Lando Norris states McLaren could’ve avoided putting him in a spot where he had to decide whether to swap with his team-mate in Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
McLaren converted a front row lockout into a 1-2 finish in Budapest, but Oscar Piastri’s maiden win came about in clouded circumstances amid a team order debacle.
Piastri capitalised on a strong launch to gain the lead at the start and was controlling the race, but McLaren elected to box Norris two laps earlier at the final pit stops.
The Briton recaptured the lead once Piastri emerged and proceeded to extend the margin over his team-mate, despite being told over the radio to reverse the position.
However, Norris would relent with three laps remaining as he slowed on the start-finish straight to allow his team-mate through to head McLaren’s first 1-2 since 2021.
Norris has denied that his eventual choice to hand back the spot was the reason behind him missing out, citing that his sluggish start cost him against his team-mate.
Asked whether he thinks McLaren made the incorrect call in relation to the championship picture, Norris said: “No. I didn’t lose the win there, I lost the win off the line.
“I had a terrible, not even a terrible start, I just had a bad start.
“Something happened on my second shift, and I lost all my momentum, Oscar got to the inside, and that was it, that was that.”
However, Norris is convinced that McLaren overcomplicated the situation and should’ve avoided the contentious events that unravelled during the closing exchanges.
“I got put into the lead rather than wanting to,” he continued. “I feel like we made things way too hard for ourselves and way too tricky for ourselves.
“We should have just boxed Oscar first and things would have been simple. They gave me the lead, and I gave it back.
“I shouldn’t have won today. I didn’t deserve to win, because of my start and Oscar’s good start, and that’s that.
“I don’t feel like, I know I was in that position for a while, and 16, 17 laps or whatever, it’s hard when you’re in that position to give it back, because you’re there.
“You’re there, and of course that went through my mind, seven points that I’m going to lose.
“But I think the real fact is that I almost shouldn’t have had them in the first place, I shouldn’t have had them in my hands. So the team were right, and I stand by what they said.”
Norris missed out on cutting an extra six points into Max Verstappen’s title lead and he was reticent on the chance that he could be less charitable later in the season.
Pressed on whether he’ll choose to adopt a more selfish approach should he be placed in a similar position down the line, Norris responded: “It depends.
“The thing is I was put in this situation, and it’s not my fault I was leading the race in a way.
“Simply, the team should have just boxed Oscar first, and we wouldn’t even be having this discussion. So it’s not that.
“I think as a team we could have done things slightly differently, and I’m sure we’ll talk about it.
“At the same time, this guy [Piastri] here deserved to win today. He did an amazing job, he got me off the line. That’s a very special feeling winning your first race.
“I’ll let him enjoy it, and for us as a team, to have the win is an incredible weekend for all of us.”
