McLaren look certain to win both Formula 1 championships this year with the teams’ title all-but sewn up and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri duelling for individual glory
Lando Norris is desperate for Formula 1 glory – but insists he is not willing to do anything to win. History is littered with World champions like Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna who were not afraid to bend rules in the pursuit of success.
Title-chasing McLaren duo Norris and Oscar Piastri have kept it clean so far this year, apart from a collision in Canada for which the Brit immediately accepted fault. Norris is often self-critical when he makes mistakes and that, he says, proves how much he wants to win.
But he said: “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.
“He is the guy I want to beat more than anyone else 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.”
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Norris was quicker than Piastri in both practice sessions at the Hungaroring on Friday as McLaren dominated proceedings. Ferrari showed decent pace with Charles Leclerc third in both hours while Lewis Hamilton also looked strong on a track where he has won eight times before.
In contrast, Max Verstappen struggled for pace and was only 14th on the timesheets by the end of FP2. Yuki Tsunoda was ninth, marking the first time the Dutchman has been beaten by a Red Bull team-mate in any practice session this season.
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Verstappen spent much of that second hour of running complaining about his machine. “I don’t know what’s going on, I can’t get any balance,” he complained at one point, while also stating in other radio messages that the car was “undriveable” and that it was “like driving on ice”.
He is third in the drivers’ championship but 81 points adrift of leader Piastri. That would be a huge gap to overhaul but, still McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is refusing to rule the four-time World champion out of the fight.
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The Italian said: “I only agree with mathematics, so once mathematics tells us that is the case, then I will change my answer. I would not exclude Max, for instance, being in the game, so we are very wary. We remain concentrated, but we want to put our drivers in a position to sustain their quest until the end of the season.”
Fernando Alonso missed the first practice session of the day, citing back pain, with Brazilian reserve driver Felipe Drugovich filling in. But the Spaniard, 44, was well enough to drive in FP2 and was fifth fastest, one place behind Lance Stroll as Aston Martin showed encouraging pace.