What McLaren bosses made of Lando Norris overruling team

McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed the team did not want Lando Norris to hand teammate Oscar Piastri victory in the F1 Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.

After controlling the final sprint race of the season in Qatar, Norris moved aside coming out of the last corner to gift the win to Piastri. The Briton explained it was payback for when Piastri let him win the Brazil sprint race at a time he was still in championship contention.

McLaren did not intend for the swap to take place, with Norris even told over team radio at one stage to hold position with Mercedes’ George Russell running close behind the Papaya pair.

But Brown said he had no issue with Norris taking the matter into his own hands.

“That was not the plan all along,” Brown told the official F1 channel. “The plan all along was to try and finish one-two. It was a close race that was 19 laps of no [finger]nails. That was Lando’s decision. And good on him.”

Stella also praises Norris

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella echoed Brown’s comments by heaping praise on Norris’ selfless act in Qatar.

“When it comes to the swap at the end, Lando was very willing to return the favour that Oscar did to him in Brazil,” Stella told Sky Sports F1.

“We actually wanted to release the pressure off Lando by saying on the radio that we were happy to finish in this order, but Lando managed to find the opportunity to return the favour.

“Once again it shows the collaboration, the unity, the cohesion that we have at McLaren is a point of strength and is the foundation to keep staying in this quest for the championship.”

The result extended McLaren’s lead over Ferrari to 30 points in the constructors’ championship.

If McLaren can replicate their 1-2 finish from the sprint race, they will clinch their first constructors’ crown since 1998.