Lando Norris says gifting his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri a guaranteed win in Saturday's Sprint event in Qatar was a decision borne out of the Aussie's own sacrifice earlier this month in Brazil.
Norris dominated the sprint from the start, expertly managing the race pace to keep Piastri within DRS range while holding off a fast-charging George Russell.
But in an unexpected display of sportsmanship and teamwork, Norris made the strategic decision to let Piastri overtake him just before the checked flag
The surprising twist, which had been discouraged beforehand by the McLaren pitwall, was a payback for Piastri's similar gesture at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where he purposefully sacrificed his own chance at victory to aid Norris's World Championship bid.
“I know it was a bit closer than what I was wanting,” Norris said afterwards. “But I planned to do it since Brazil. Just what I thought was best is probably a little bit sketchy.
“The team told me not to do it, but I thought I could get away with it, and we did. So honestly, I don't mind.
“I'm not here to win sprint races. I'm here to win races and a championship, but that's not gone to plan. So I did the best we could, and I look forward to tomorrow.”
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It was a risky move however given Russell's close proximity to the McLaren duo, but a flawless execution delivered the perfect outcome.
On the final lap, Norris was firmly told over the radio: “Finish in this order. “We are happy.”
Despite the instructions, Norris executed his plan, carefully timing the swap to avoid jeopardizing Piastri's position against Russell.
Piastri, who was aware of the potential gesture, expressed his gratitude over team radio: “Thank you for the team work. Much appreciated.”
Norris downplayed the significance of giving up the win, emphasizing the bigger picture of McLaren's success.
"We scored 1-2. That's what we were aiming for today," he said. *"We've got maximum points, so we're happy. We're happy as a team, we've executed things perfectly, and I think the pace was good.
"I probably could have pushed a little bit more than what I was doing, but we wanted to keep the others behind. So we tried to help out and not let George get too close. So we did our job, and that's the main thing .”*
For Norris, the message was clear: winning together means more than individual accolades, and paying back a teammate is worth more than a single sprint race victory.
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The post Norris overruled McLaren pitwall to gift win to Piastri appeared first on F1i.com.
