Won't matter once we're all dead – Lando Norris plays down F1 title battle
The title momentum swung back in Piastri's favour at last weekend's rain-hit round in Belgium. Norris started on pole position but allowed Piastri to swoop past in the treacherous conditions.
Lando Norris topped both practice session at the Hungaroring on Friday (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Norris was unable to stop Red Bull's Max Verstappen from taking his fourth consecutive championship last year, but such is McLaren's superiority, it is team-mate Piastri who has emerged as his sole rival for this season's crown.
Piastri has six wins to Norris' four but when asked if he needs to get under the Australian's skin to land his maiden F1 title, Norris replied: 'I don't enjoy that. In 200 years no one is going to care. We'll all be dead.
'I am trying to have a good time. I still care about it, and that's why I get upset sometimes and I get disappointed and I get angry at myself. And I think that shows just how much I care about winning and losing.
'But that doesn't mean I need to take it out on Oscar. I just don't get into those kind of things.'
Historically, intra-team title battles rarely end well in F1, but Norris continued: 'Yes, he (Piastri) is the guy I want to beat more than anyone else.
Oscar Piastri holds a 16-point championship lead over team-mate Norris (Bradley Collyer/PA)
'But if I don't beat him, then that's just because he has done a better job. I will do it the way I believe is best for me, and just because one person did it a few years ago, it doesn't mean you have to do that, too. I don't really care about those things.'
At the Hungaroring on Friday, Norris completed an impressive practice double – beating Piastri by just 0.019 seconds in the first session before extending his advantage to nearly three tenths later in the day.
Norris has never been out-qualified by a team-mate on his six previous visits here, and he will be encouraged by his showing in practice.
Over at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton has won a record eight times in Hungary and has secured nine pole positions. But the 40-year-old, who remains without a podium in Ferrari colours, struggled for pace on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth in practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix (Bradley Collyer/PA)
In the first session, he complained his car didn't 'feel good' and ran off the road at the first corner following a major lock-up. He ended the day in sixth, three tenths and as many places behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen ended speculation he could leave Red Bull at the end of the year by committing his future there for at least another season. However, he finished a distant 14th in practice, 1.1 seconds slower than Norris.
'I don't know what is going on,' said Verstappen over the radio. 'It is just undriveable.'
Verstappen is also facing a stewards' investigation after he threw a towel – seemingly left in the Dutchman's cockpit by accident – out of his car.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
2 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Lando Norris ready to go all the way in championship battle with Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris believes his championship battle with Oscar Piastri will go to the wire following his victory at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix. Norris started third and dropped to fifth after a poor first corner at the Hungaroring before he rolled the strategy dice – stopping one less time than his rivals – to take the lead and then held off Piastri's late charge in a brilliant finale. Piastri came within centimetres of colliding with Norris on the penultimate lap when he momentarily lost control of his McLaren as he attempted a banzai move for the win. Norris ⚔️ Piastri: How did they not collide?! 😱 #F1 #HungarianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) August 3, 2025 But Norris survived and held his nerve to keep the fast-charging Australian at bay to land his fifth win of the season – his third in his last four appearances – taking the chequered flag just six tenths clear and reducing the championship deficit to nine points with 10 rounds remaining. Max Verstappen, who finished ninth on Sunday, remains in third in the standings but 97 points off the championship pace. 'I'm dead,' said Norris. 'In the final stint Oscar was catching and I was pushing flat out. My voice has gone a little bit. 'It has been a tough battle so far with Oscar and it is going to continue to be tough. The margins between us are pretty small. There are things I can do better and improve on, and I am sure he will probably say the same thing. So, it is going to be a good and tough fight, probably until the end. 'Even though the results have looked great, I'm not making my life very easy at the minute. If I can work on those things, then I'll be in a better place.' Norris' win in the concluding round before the summer break reignites his bid to land a maiden world crown. But the Bristolian can count himself somewhat fortunate to be standing on the top step of the podium. At the start, Norris got away well from his marks, but an attempt to pass Piastri on the inside of the opening corner backfired. DRIVER STANDINGS (AFTER 14/24 ROUNDS) Oscar Piastri takes a nine-point lead into the summer break #F1 #HungarianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) August 3, 2025 Norris did not commit to the overtake and that left him in no-man's land, allowing George Russell and then Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso to breeze through. On lap three, Norris fought his way clear of Alonso but was then tucked up behind Russell and making little progress. Piastri and Charles Leclerc, who controlled the first stint of the race from pole position, stopped for new tyres on laps 18 and 19 respectively. Russell also peeled into the pits on lap 19 promoting Norris to the front. McLaren were now considering a one-stop strategy. Norris' race engineer, Will Joseph, was on the radio: 'Lando, 40 laps on the hard tyre, you up for it?' Norris replied: 'Yeah, why not?' On lap 31 of 70, the Englishman came in for his sole change of tyres before lighting up the timesheets with the fastest laps of the race so far. In his haste to catch up, Norris then dropped two wheels through the gravel on the exit of the chicane, which irked Joseph. 'Lando, just keep the focus, we don't want these mistakes,' he said. Leclerc, Piastri and Russell were all forced to stop again. When it all shuffled out, Norris led Leclerc by seven seconds, with Piastri five seconds further back. But Piastri was on the move, swatting Leclerc aside on lap 51 and then set about reducing Norris' nine-second advantage. With five laps to go, Piastri was just a second behind his team-mate, and on the penultimate lap, the Australian went for glory at the first bend. However, Norris retained his composure and remained ahead to land what could be a pivotal win in his championship charge.
Telegraph
4 minutes ago
- Telegraph
‘Things in the background are not great': Lewis Hamilton fuels Ferrari split talk
Lewis Hamilton has hinted at problems behind the scenes at Ferrari, 24 hours after calling himself 'absolutely useless' and suggesting that his team should sack him. On Saturday, Hamilton watched his team-mate 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 Ferrari have trailed well behind pace-setters McLaren and Hamilton is being comfortably beaten by his team-mate. His comments on Sunday evening suggest that 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 the McLarens. Lewis Hamilton doubles down on 'change the driver' Ferrari comment 😔 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 3, 2025 His struggles at the Hungaroring come off the back of a troubled weekend in Belgium, where he qualified 16th and 18th for the sprint race and grand prix respectively. In Budapest he watched his team-mate take pole position whilst 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 added. 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 this week. In Thursday's press conference with the written media, 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. In the race, there was also an incident when Max Verstappen overtook Hamilton as his Ferrari went off the track. It was referred to the stewards, but the seven-time champion said he 'did not really remember' the battle with his old adversary, who also had a Sunday to forget and finished ninth. SO close as Lewis and Max battle it out 😳⚔️ — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 3, 2025 Leclerc shared his team-mate's dejection after a chassis problem meant he slipped from leading the race to finish a distant fourth. This problem, he said, made the car 'undriveable' in what he called a 'disaster' of a second stint. 'I'm still very disappointed. We had one opportunity to win a race this year, which was this race – the first stint was perfect, the first laps of the second stint was really good as well,' he said after the race. Ferrari have yet to win a grand prix this year, but their performances – or Leclerc's at least – have been improved since they brought in an upgraded rear suspension at Spa. When it was put to Leclerc that there might be other chances for victory in the remaining 10 rounds, he was pessimistic. 'I am not sure, I don't think so. I think they [McLaren] are the strongest team out there. What gave me hope of winning was that we were starting first and in the dirty air they were struggling to get past. 'I don't think we are going into the second half of the season thinking that we can win anywhere and that is what makes the frustration even bigger. We knew that this was one opportunity probably over the season and we had to take it.' Verstappen, meanwhile, was another driver with reason to embrace the summer break. He started eighth and finished ninth behind even the Racing Bulls car of Liam Lawson. 'The whole weekend we were just really slow, we just struggled a lot for grip in low speed and medium speed. Whatever we would have done, we would have struggled anyway,' he said. He still sits third in the table but the best he can hope for now is the odd race win. On the Hamilton incident, Verstappen was surprised that it went to the stewards. 'The thing is that nothing happened, we didn't even touch. For me it's a bit difficult to understand why we had the investigation after the race.'
Reuters
4 minutes ago
- Reuters
Brown hails McLaren's 200th win as close to perfect
BUDAPEST, Aug 3 (Reuters) - McLaren boss Zak Brown hailed the team's 200th Formula One win, with Lando Norris ahead of championship leader Oscar Piastri in a one-two finish in Hungary on Sunday, as close to perfect. The win was Norris's fifth of the season and McLaren's seventh one-two in 14 races as well as the team's fourth in a row. "You're never perfect in a race but I think that was as close to perfect as you can get," Brown told Sky Sports television. "The drivers were awesome, pit stops amazing, strategy was great to get Lando up there, Oscar drove brilliantly. I couldn't be prouder of this racing team." Norris and Piastri crossed the finish line 0.698 of a second apart, with the pair almost touching when the Australian tried to make a move on his British teammate on the penultimate lap and locked up. Team principal Andrea Stella said it had been 'firm' racing but also fair between rivals now separated by just nine points. "We had a bit of a lock-up with Oscar but at the same time Lando left some space because he knew that Oscar would have been at the limit of braking," said the Italian. "We keep being very proud of our Lando and Oscar for racing. I think this is a great way of honouring Formula One racing. These are the value of McLaren." Despite celebrating his ninth career win, Norris said he needed to improve because he was making life too hard for himself. He won from third on the grid, after dropping to fifth at the start and then making a one-stop strategy work with Piastri on two. "It's going to be a good and tough battle probably until the end. It takes a lot out of you trying to focus so much for every single session, race, everything. So, it's going be a long second half of the season, I'm sure," he said. "There are those things I need to improve on and want to improve on. I'm not giving myself the best opportunities. Even though the results have looked great, I'm not making my life very easy for myself at the minute. "So if I can work on those things, then I'll be in a better place." McLaren are only the second team to chalk up 200 grand prix wins since the world championship started in 1950. Ferrari, yet to win this season, are on 248. Mercedes, next after McLaren, have 130.
