Lando Norris has further emphasised the McLaren position on how it goes racing in Formula 1 after its controversial driver swap with Oscar Piastri at the Italian Grand Prix.
Norris was handed back second place at Monza by Piastri, who leapfrogged the Brit after a sluggish pitstop in the closing lap, at the team’s request.
It led to fraught debate as to McLaren’s methods of racing, which it has continuously implemented on the basis of fairness between the two drivers.
Piastri stated earlier on Thursday that the team have “had a lot of discussions, clarified a lot of things, and we know how we’re going to go racing going forward, which is the most important thing.”
And now Norris, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, has corroborated his team-mate’s version of events of the discussions in the aftermath of the race.,
“All exactly as it was. Some things had to be clarified,” he said.
“There were some things at that point that I didn’t know about: the undercut from Leclerc [was something I wasn’t aware of] in my post-race interviews at the time.
“That also played a part in the reasoning of the decision that the team made.
“And the fact it was not just the pitstop which made that decision. It was more so the other things. We both agreed with it after and accepted. That’s what we agreed as a team.”
Norris unsurprised about negative reaction to McLaren swap
Asked about the questionable reaction to the swap, Norris indicated that he was not taken aback by it, citing a natural shift towards negativity.
“Not [surprised] in the world that we live in nowadays,” he said. “Because that’s all people want to do, you know, is be negative and talk badly about others. So, honestly, not a surprise.
“You also need headlines. You also need people to read things. So, not surprised at all from my side.
“But it also doesn’t affect us as a team. It’s what you expect nowadays, I think, in the world that we live in. It’s more negativity than ever positivity.”
READ MORE – Oscar Piastri details McLaren discussions following divisive F1 Italian GP driver switch
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