McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have stated that their internal team racing guidelines will not change, following “good” discussions regarding their crash at the Canadian Grand Prix.
During the Montreal race, Norris, who trails Piastri by 22 points in the Drivers` Championship heading into this weekend`s Austrian Grand Prix, ran into the back of his teammate, leading to Norris`s retirement from the event.
Team Principal Andrea Stella had publicly expressed a desire for “better judgment” from his drivers subsequent to the incident.
Norris commented on the aftermath, saying, “There`s been a good understanding of everything, realising my thoughts and understanding things from both my side and explaining that to the team.” He added, “I think I made it clear from the immediate moment that I misjudged it and I took the fault from it. Of course, it was not the most joyful conversations, but conversations that needed to be had clearly because it`s not just about myself, it`s how we perform as a team. We all know what rule number one was and continues and always will be.”
He suggested that despite the unfortunate circumstances, “Many things have come out stronger than they were prior to Canada, which you might not expect. Through unfortunate circumstances a lot has been learned, a lot of things have turned into being stronger.”
Piastri, whose streak of eight consecutive podium finishes ended with a fourth-place finish in Montreal, affirmed that he and Norris are “still free to race” but will “make sure” they do not collide again.
“I don`t think it will change anything. For me, I certainly won`t do anything different,” Piastri said. “If Lando`s going to do anything different, that`s for him to answer, but I don`t expect anything to change. We`ve still got a long season ahead of us. I think it`s going to be a tight battle for the rest of the year.”
Norris believes his immediate acceptance of blame for the incident set a positive example for the McLaren team.
He emphasized his commitment: “My team means everything to me, the people that I`ve grown up with, the people who have given me opportunity in Formula 1, and I want to win with McLaren.” He described the collision with Piastri as “the most painful thing for me because it`s the last thing I want.”
Norris explained his feelings after the crash: “I felt bad, very bad for the team. A tough couple of days but it`s something I got better at dealing with, speaking to Andrea and Zak [Brown], and the team, to move on as quickly as possible was very important.”
McLaren`s Austrian Grand Prix Outlook and Upgrades
Even without the collision, both Piastri and Norris were not on track for a podium finish in Canada, marking the first time this season a McLaren driver was not in the top three.
Norris commented on the competitive landscape, noting, “some of our main competitors have caught up” in hot conditions, with similar warm weather predicted for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Regarding the Spielberg circuit, Norris, who achieved his first F1 podium there, said, “Austria has been one of our best tracks in the past, but it`s also been a very good one for Red Bull and for Max. They have an advantage on us in high-speed corners, which there are a good amount of here, so we expect to be good, but maybe struggle a little bit in qualifying, comparing to some of our competitors.”
McLaren arrived in Austria with upgrades, mirroring developments brought by competitors like Ferrari and Red Bull. Piastri confirmed the new parts are focused on the front of the car.
Reflecting on the previous race, Piastri stated, “We got taken by surprise a little bit that we weren`t as strong as we hoped in Canada, but hopefully it`s a one-off.” He added, “By the time we got to qualifying, I think we were in a better place and in the race, our pace was actually not bad, just we qualified a bit further back.”
Piastri expressed confidence for the upcoming weekend: “I think we kind of understand what went wrong in Canada. So, we`ll try and have a better weekend here, but I`m confident we`ll be back on top form.”
Regarding the upgrades, he noted, “We do have some new parts, yes. I think some bits at the front of the car, and hopefully it makes us quicker. That`s normally the plan.”
