Norris Remains Calm: “The F1 Title Doesn’t Matter in 200 Years”

Lando Norris, McLaren driver, has expressed his perspective on the fight for the world championship with his teammate, Oscar Piastri. Norris stated that the final result in the competition is not the most important thing, as “in 200 years we will all be dead”. Norris is currently 16 points behind Piastri in the overall standings, awaiting the final race before the Formula 1 summer break. The championship momentum shifted in Piastri’s favor in the recent race in Belgium, where Norris, despite starting in pole position, was overtaken by his teammate in adverse weather conditions. Although Norris couldn’t prevent Max Verstappen of Red Bull from winning the championship last year, McLaren’s superiority has positioned Piastri as his main rival this season. Piastri has achieved six victories compared to Norris’s four. When asked if he needs to psychologically affect his teammate to win his first F1 title, Norris replied that he doesn’t enjoy those kinds of tactics.

I’m trying to have a good time. I still care, and that’s why sometimes I get upset, disappointed, and angry with myself. And I think that shows how much I care about winning and losing.

Lando Norris

Norris added that he doesn’t need to resort to those strategies. “I just don’t get involved in that kind of thing,” he commented.

Historically, internal battles in F1 teams rarely end well, but Norris continued by saying that Piastri is the one he wants to beat the most. Norris also highlighted that if he doesn’t manage to outperform Piastri, it will be because his teammate has done a better job. In Friday’s practice at Hungaroring, Norris dominated, surpassing Piastri by only 0.019 seconds in the first session and extending his lead to almost three tenths later. Norris has never been outqualified by a teammate in his previous six visits here, giving him confidence for the race. In Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, who has won eight times in Hungary and secured nine poles, struggled on Friday, failing to achieve a good pace. Verstappen, for his part, finished in a distant 14th place in practice, 1.1 seconds behind Norris. Verstappen is also facing an investigation after throwing a towel out of his car.