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As the laps remaining tumbled down at the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix, there was one topic on everyone’s lips as a papaya storm brewed at the front. Will Lando Norris – Formula One’s Mr Popular – follow the instructions of his team? Or, in a shock twist, won’t he?
Norris, a championship contender for the first time, was put in an unenviable position by McLaren at the Hungaroring on Sunday. Having regained the lead of the race through the team’s questionable pit-stop strategy, the British driver was extending his lead on the track from teammate Oscar Piastri, originally in first after a super move at the start.
The gap was six seconds and there were less than five laps remaining. With his race engineer Will Joseph imploring his driver to follow protocol – “please, do it now” – Norris had to swing one way or the other. Be selfless, or selfish?
Reluctantly, but to the extreme relief of his team, he chose the former. Norris slowed down with three laps to go and allowed Piastri to pass him on the start-finish straight, with the Australian subsequently cruising to his first F1 grand prix victory. But the realisation of a lifelong dream had a sour taste, despite the team’s first one-two finish in three years. Norris bluntly told his engineer: “You don’t need to say anything.”
Norris, quite admirably and in contrast to an angry Max Verstappen in Budapest, regained his composure in his media commitments afterwards. While admitting it “hurt” to give up a second race win, he congratulated Piastri and his team on a terrific haul of points. In a move that would have been altogether more dramatic, he also revealed his plan was to swap positions a matter of seconds before the end.
“I was going to wait until the last corner of the last lap,” he said. “But they [McLaren] said if there was a safety car all of a sudden, then I couldn’t let Oscar go through and it would have made me look like a bit of an idiot. I was like, fair point, so I let him go.”
It took some time, and he left us all tantalisingly guessing, but Norris made the right decision. The primary motive for keeping first – seven extra points in the championship – should not have been prioritised for a potential eroding of team spirit, creating a driver divide which would have been totally unnecessary. Norris curbed his natural instincts, an unrelenting thirst for victory he has made obvious in recent weeks, and acquiesced.
Yet ultimately, it was a position McLaren should never have landed their drivers in.
The tone of this race was set in the first 10 seconds. Pole-sitter Norris could not avert Piastri’s surge down the inside at turn one and, after climbing back up to second place when Verstappen conceded his spot, the Bristolian was comfortably in second but not gaining ground on the Australian out in front.
Yet by the second round of pit stops just beyond the halfway stage, McLaren opted to pit Norris in order to cover off the threat of the “under-cut” by Lewis Hamilton behind them. It was an obvious manoeuvre – but why Norris? Should it not have been race leader Piastri who was prioritised?
The net result was, by the time Piastri pitted a few laps later, that Norris was now in the lead. And he was making a statement, extending his lead and showing superior pace to Piastri.
At which point comes the uncomfortable driver-engineer conversation. Joseph, under instruction himself from team principal Andrea Stella, ordered Norris to swap the positions “at your convenience”. For a racing driver – who is intrinsically wired to do anything but surrender first place – it was a phrase very much open to interpretation, and as the lead increased and time progressed, the panic in Joseph’s voice was clear for all to hear.
Full dialogue between Lando Norris and his engineer, Will Joseph
Lap 55
Will Joseph: “We need you to save more tyres, please. We do want to let Oscar through.”
Lando Norris: “We should have box him first then, shouldn’t we, no?”
WJ: “It doesn’t matter.“
LN: “I mean… it does. For me maybe.”
Lap 57
WJ: “OK Lando, we still think you’re using the tyres too much: turn 4, turn 11 and the rears at exit turn 6 and turn 9. Oscar is 3.5. I know you’ll do the right thing.”
Lap 61
WJ: “OK Lando, 10 laps to go. We think both cars are using their tyres too much. Just remember every single Sunday morning meeting we have.”
LN: “Yeah, well tell him [Oscar] to catch up then, please.”
Lap 63
WJ: “Lando, he can’t catch you up. You have proved your point and it really doesn’t matter.”
LN: “He’s on much quicker tyres. I mean I would have tried to undercut anyway. If I did, I would have gone.”
WJ: “Mate, we did the stop sequence in this order for the good of the team.”
Lap 64
WJ: “I tried to protect you, mate. I promise, I’m trying to protect you.”
Lap 66
WJ: “Lando, there are five laps to go. The way to win a championship is not by yourself, it’s with the team. You’re going to need Oscar, and you’re going to need the team.”
Lap 67
WJ: “If there is a safety car now, it’s going to make this very awkward. Please do it now.”
Lap 68
LN: “Yeah, you don’t need to say anything.”
It went from politely informing his driver of the team’s instructions, to the verge of begging his man to “do the right thing.”
By lap 64, with the clock ticking, he said: “Lando, there are five laps to go. The way to win a championship is not by yourself, it’s with the team. You’re going to need Oscar and you’re going to need the team.”
Three laps later, abreast of the safety car risk, Norris relented.
While Piastri’s emotions are understated compared to others on the F1 grid, his celebrations at the chequered flag seemed somewhat muted. This was a victory he had earned with that overtake at the start but, by the end, he almost sounded a tad embarrassed. It is to his credit – in just his second season in F1 – that he showed barely a sign of irritation as the drama played out over the team radio.
While the outcome was the one McLaren and Stella desired, it was a mess which could have been avoided. The commands should have been clearer; an unambiguous message of where and when Norris was to relinquish top spot. It is a lesson to learn moving forward.
World champion of 2016, Nico Rosberg, all too keen to lend his advice to Stella on Sky Sports afterwards, spoke of his battles with Hamilton at Mercedes – and insisted the Italian must be “extremely clear and firm” with team orders in the future.
Stella is a man who places huge emphasis on team culture, as does chief executive Zak Brown. It is a factor in why McLaren have risen so rapidly in the last year from mid-table also-rans to Red Bull’s closest challengers.
With a smirk, Stella replied: “Nico, you talk from experience. I take your recommendation. We will make good use of it.” Let’s see what transpires next time.
