Belgian GP qualifying, Norris takes swipe at doubters after taking pole from Piastri, rookie in tears
The 25-year-old Briton, who was beaten by series leader Piastri in Friday's sprint qualifying, said it was tough for both McLaren drivers as they battle for supremacy in their intra-team rivalry — and slug it out for the drivers' world championship.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
After 12 of this year's 24 races, Piastri leads with 241 points and five wins ahead of Norris on 232 and four wins.
Defending four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull is third on 173 after two Grand Prix wins.
Norris, who is chasing a third consecutive Grand Prix win on Sunday to overhaul the 24-year-old Australian, admitted he was aware that 'everyone was worried' after Friday when he was three-tenths slower.
'I wasn't that far off, but there were a couple of little issues and everyone was pretty worried,' he said.
'But I was confident after yesterday and I was confident coming into today so it's nice to see that I could get back to the top.'
Asked where his improvement came from, he said: 'Three-tenths is just slipstream and not being the first out of the pit-lane.
'It was nothing to worry about, but people like to make a lot of things up. 'I felt good and the car has been flying all weekend.' Norris has been accused of mental fragility and being over-sensitive to his own high expectations and media criticism.
He said that it was intense and challenging for both McLaren drivers to maintain a strong relationship as teammates while fighting for the drivers' title.
'Oscar has been doing a good job all weekend and we've been pushing each other a lot,' said Norris.
'It's tough because you see where your strengths and weaknesses are clearly — and then you learn from each other quickly. It's good, but it's a tough battle that we have at the minute.' Piastri agreed that maintaining a balanced approach was difficult.
'We're a good teammate pairing and we learn a lot from each other each weekend. That's what makes us a good team, but it also makes it difficult to fight each other.'
Norris said he wanted Sunday's race to be run in dry conditions, despite forecast heavy rain for the Ardennes.
'I prefer it to stay dry honestly. For the fans! I think it's rained here for the last 10 years or something so it would be nice to have a dry Sunday.'
It's a blow to Piastri given overtaking has proven increasingly difficult in F1 this season, and it will take something special for him to pass Norris in the race.
Piastri set the track record for the fastest ever lap at Spa in sprint qualifying, but couldn't quite match that pace in qualifying for the main race.
He was overtaken by Verstappen, who won the Sprint race before qualifying.
Belgian Grand Prix starting grid
1st row: Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
2nd row: Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen
3rd row: Alex Albon, George Russell
4th row. Yuki Tsunoda, Isack Hadjar
5th row: Liam Lawson, Gabriel Bortoleto
6th row: Esteban Ocon, Ollie Bearman
7th row: Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg
8th row: Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton
9th row: Franco Colapinto, Kimi Antonelli
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
‘Don't care': Cold Oscar Piastri radio message causes stir
Oscar Piastri's cold radio message during the rollercoaster Hungarian Grand Prix has raised eyebrows. The Aussie was the victim of his McLaren team's strategy gamble to put teammate Lando Norris on an ambitious one-stop strategy after he dropped positions on the opening lap. Piastri was being frustrated while stuck behind Ferrari pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, but appeared to be on his way toward another victory before it emerged that Norris was on the quicker strategy and assumed the race lead when Piastri was forced to pit for a second time. Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Norris was forced to hold on in the final laps as the 24-year-old Melburnian nibbled at his rear wing, but on the Hungaroring track, a circuit notoriously difficult to overtake on, the British driver held on for victory. Piastri crossed the line just 0.7 seconds behind his teammate, but all that matters is that Norris has reduced Piastri's championship lead back to nine points. McLaren has done an incredible job in keeping the relationship between Piastri and Norris amicable as they fight for the world championship — but Piastri's radio message to his team during the race shows it is just a matter of time before the gloves come off. As Piastri was preparing for his final stop, he was asked by race engineer Tom Stallard if his intent was to extinguish any glimmer of hope Leclerc had of winning the race — or simply beating his teammate. As recorded by the @radiomessages profile on X, Piastri was asked: 'Leclerc is going to be four or five seconds ahead of our pit window. We suggest to box this lap'. Piastri's blunt response was telling: 'I don't really care about Leclerc. I just want the best chance to try and beat Lando. 'That's the most important thing at the moment.' It wasn't the only radio exchange that showed Piastri was not altogether happy with his team after the race. There was only awkward silence from Piastri after Stallard congratulated him on his drive. 'Well done mate. That was really close, Oscar. Really close. Great racing. Good job,' Stallard said. 'Good stuff. Great racing. We're going to shut down. Still leading both championships. Good first half of the season.' It appears Piastri gave no immediate response. The frosty dynamic has added another layer to Piastri's reputation as a mild-mannered assassin with some fans on X describing him as a 'cyborg' or 'terminator'. Piastri could sense right from the moment he went into the pits the first time that his team may have made a mistake. 'I don't know if trying to undercut Leclerc was the right call in the end but we can go through that after,' Piastri said. F1 guru Martin Brundle said after the race he understood why Piastri would have been frustrated by his team's tactical decisions. 'Oscar will be seething with that,' Brundle said. Remember the two radio calls. Pit to undercut Leclerc. They were busy strategising to beat Leclerc. Norris didn't have that problem as he was out of the picture and came in 13 laps later and changed strategy. 'The great irony is by not being in that fight with the Ferrari at the front they had more freedom and took it. 'But he still had to deliver that pace for that amount of time on those tyres. 'Oscar will be asking why didn't we do that. Why have we two stopped and been beaten by our teammate who one-stopped?' Despite this, Piastri congratulated his teammate after the race, recognising Norris' good defensive driving in the final laps. Piastri conceded his team was making a gamble either way. 'I pushed as hard as I could. I saw Lando going for a one (stop) so I knew I was going to have to overtake on track, which is easier said then done around here,' he said. 'I tried a few things, but it was a gamble either way and, unfortunately, we were just on the other side of it.' Piastri questioned his team's decision to try to 'undercut' pole sitter and early leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari in the early stages of the race. 'I'm not sure that was the right call in the end,' he said on radio. It wasn't. McLaren boss Zak Brown said everyone in the team will 'sleep well tonight'. Piastri may not feel the same way. The outcome was McLaren's fourth consecutive 1-2 in succession and Norris's fifth win this year and ninth of his career.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Things in the background are not great': Lewis Hamilton fuels talk of Ferrari split
Lewis Hamilton has hinted at problems behind the scenes at Ferrari, 24 hours after calling himself 'absolutely useless' and suggesting his team should sack him. On Saturday, Hamilton watched his teammate Charles Leclerc take pole position as he slumped to 12th. On Sunday, he finished the Hungarian Grand Prix exactly where he started and said his mindset had not changed from the day before. Hamilton joined Ferrari with the hopes of winning a record eighth world drivers' title. But the Italian team have trailed well behind pacesetters McLaren, and Hamilton is being comfortably beaten by his teammate. His comments on Sunday suggest all is not well at Maranello. 'When you have a feeling, you have a feeling. There's a lot going on in the background that is not great,' he told Sky Sports F1 after finishing the race a lap down from McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. His struggles at the Hungaroring follow a troubled weekend in Belgium, where he qualified 18th and 16th for the sprint race and grand prix respectively. In Budapest he watched his teammate take pole position while he was eliminated in Q2. Fourteen rounds into his first season at Ferrari, he trails Leclerc 109 points to 151. The Monegasque has taken five podiums but Hamilton none. Hamilton's demeanour after the race was of a man who looked desperate to embrace time away from F1, with nearly a month off until racing resumes at Zandvoort. 'I'm glad it's over. I'm looking forward to going away,' Hamilton said. When pressed on whether he would 'definitely' be back for the next race in the Netherlands, he said: 'I look forward to coming back … hopefully I will be back, yeah.' The signs of an unhappy driver were there from early on in Hungary. At a press conference on Thursday, Hamilton was word-shy, as he sometimes is. That theme continued throughout the weekend, evidently worsened by the effects of two dreadful races in a row. It is possible that Hamilton has hit the lowest point of a staggeringly successful career.
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
‘Things in the background are not great': Lewis Hamilton fuels talk of Ferrari split
Lewis Hamilton has hinted at problems behind the scenes at Ferrari, 24 hours after calling himself 'absolutely useless' and suggesting his team should sack him. On Saturday, Hamilton watched his teammate Charles Leclerc take pole position as he slumped to 12th. On Sunday, he finished the Hungarian Grand Prix exactly where he started and said his mindset had not changed from the day before. Hamilton joined Ferrari with the hopes of winning a record eighth world drivers' title. But the Italian team have trailed well behind pacesetters McLaren, and Hamilton is being comfortably beaten by his teammate. His comments on Sunday suggest all is not well at Maranello. 'When you have a feeling, you have a feeling. There's a lot going on in the background that is not great,' he told Sky Sports F1 after finishing the race a lap down from McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. His struggles at the Hungaroring follow a troubled weekend in Belgium, where he qualified 18th and 16th for the sprint race and grand prix respectively. In Budapest he watched his teammate take pole position while he was eliminated in Q2. Fourteen rounds into his first season at Ferrari, he trails Leclerc 109 points to 151. The Monegasque has taken five podiums but Hamilton none. Hamilton's demeanour after the race was of a man who looked desperate to embrace time away from F1, with nearly a month off until racing resumes at Zandvoort. 'I'm glad it's over. I'm looking forward to going away,' Hamilton said. When pressed on whether he would 'definitely' be back for the next race in the Netherlands, he said: 'I look forward to coming back … hopefully I will be back, yeah.' The signs of an unhappy driver were there from early on in Hungary. At a press conference on Thursday, Hamilton was word-shy, as he sometimes is. That theme continued throughout the weekend, evidently worsened by the effects of two dreadful races in a row. It is possible that Hamilton has hit the lowest point of a staggeringly successful career.
