Lando Norris is relieved to be free of the sporting sanctions previously imposed by McLaren, feeling he is now in a “comfortable place” to continue his title challenge.
The team had applied unspecified penalties on Norris after a wheel-to-wheel clash with his teammate and championship leader, Oscar Piastri, at the Singapore Grand Prix. The tension escalated at the subsequent race in Austin, where a first-corner collision involving Piastri and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg resulted in a crash that took both McLaren drivers out of the sprint race.
Following a thorough review of the Austin incident, Piastri accepted a “degree of responsibility” and McLaren decided to lift the sanctions against Norris, effectively resetting the rivalry between the teammates. Norris chose not to disclose the nature of the penalties but acknowledged that their removal improves his chances going forward.
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“Better. Better for my interests,” Norris said. “Not sure relieved is the right word. It wasn’t like I was sweating before but it gives me better chances in places. It was certainly a disadvantage. I would never choose it.”
Initially, Norris did not blame Piastri for the Austin crash, although many commentators attributed fault to the Australian driver. When asked if his opinion had shifted after the review, Norris remained diplomatic: “I think the point of it now being equal between us, I think it says enough about what the result was.”
McLaren’s commitment to maintaining fairness between their drivers faces new challenges, especially with Max Verstappen intensifying his own title bid. After Piastri’s win in Zandvoort and Norris suffering an engine failure late in the race, Piastri held a commanding 34-point lead over Norris and an even larger margin over Verstappen.
However, Verstappen has since surged with three victories in four races, closing to within 40 points of the lead. Meanwhile, Norris has outperformed Piastri in every race since the Dutch Grand Prix, trimming his deficit to just 14 points ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix weekend.
“I’m in a good position. I’m second. Probably prefer being first but I’m also in second with nothing to lose,” Norris said. “I’m in a comfortable place. I’m also not a guy who believes in momentum. Every weekend is so different. I’ve just been performing well recently and I’ll continue that. Same as Max has been doing very well recently.”