McLaren driver Lando Norris has stated that he is not in F1 “to beg” for his teammate to let him pass after the Brit finished behind teammate Oscar Piastri.
Norris hampered by McLaren
Norris is second in the Drivers’ Championship, 62 -points behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in first.
The Briton’s McLaren teammate, Piastri, remains 106 points behind the Dutchman, raising the question of why the Woking-based team didn’t decide to switch two papaya cars around.
A switch would put Norris three points closer to the Red Bull driver, a gap that could be crucial towards the end of the season regarding winning the Drivers’ Championship.
However, Norris claimed that the Australian drove a “better race” at the Italian Grand Prix and that he ‘deserved” to finish behind Piastri.
As reported by RacingNews365, Norris said:
“Yeah, he [Piastri] helps me.
“But I’m not here just to beg for someone to let me pass. That’s not why I’m here. I’m here to race.Â?
“He drove a better race than me, so I finished third, and that’s where I deserved to finish. “
Time is ‘going away slowly’ for Norris
Despite the lack of team orders in Italy, at the Hungarian Grand Prix before the summer break, Norris was asked to give his teammate the first-place position.
This order followed an advantageous pitstop that was given to the two-time race winner to ensure McLaren retained a 1-2 finish.
Now, with eight races to go without maximising every point possible, Norris may have a tough time closing the 62-point gap.
When asked if he would prefer to be favoured as the season heads into its final events, Norris stated:
“I would love it, but it’s not up to me. It’s tough, because obviously I think as any driver, you don’t want it.Â?
“You know you don’t want things to just be played that way. It’s a tough one. Obviously, I wouldn’t say we’re running out of time, but time is going away slowly, and I still believe I still believe we can do it.Â?
“The pace is obviously great. I still believe we’re probably close to, if not the best car again today. I don’t know. It’s not for me to decide. It’s for the team, but I think we’re still working together well.Â?
“We’re still helping one another and I think that showed plenty of times this year that we’re working together very well as a team and we’re performing as the best team out on the grid and we’re very happy with that. Â?
“When you’re fighting for a championship, you want every little thing and I’m doing everything I can. The best way simply is just to win the race. And I didn’t do that today because of some silly things.”
McLaren now sits eight points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship.
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