Lando Norris Blames Teammate Piastri For Poor Result At Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
The Jeddah Grand Prix was full of excitement, drama, and controversy. However, for Lando Norris, it ended in disappointment, as he failed to achieve a good result due to the damage his car unluckily sustained in the early stages of the race. The British driver was left to rue his luck and blamed his teammate, Oscar Piastri, for not giving McLaren a better result.
Piastri, who joined McLaren in a dramatic fashion after drama with Alpine, had a lot to prove as he stepped into the shoes of Daniel Ricciardo. The former F2 champion, however, rose to the occasion and drove his team into Q3 despite a car setup with far too much downforce. Unfortunately, he failed to capitalize on his P8 starting position, as he too suffered damage in a chaotic start of the race.
After hitting debris created by Piastri's early knock, Norris ended up pitting himself for repairs, effectively ending his chances of a good result. The Briton was clearly frustrated with the situation and blamed Piastri.
"It was a really good start, I just got all the damage from, I think Oscar and Ocon came together and all of their debris hit my car and it ruined my race. So, I had to do a nose box change, broke my front wing, but it just kind of ruined the rest of it."
Despite the setback, Norris tried his best to make up ground and engaged in a thrilling battle with Piastri towards the end of the race. The duo came wheel to wheel on a couple of occasions on Lap 45, but Norris was eventually told to not make it difficult as Piastri swiftly overtook his teammate.
"I think I could have done it if I didn't let Oscar go, but I let Oscar go, I let him have a crack, and he did it, so fair play."
While Norris was gracious in defeat, he made it clear that he wasn't happy with the result.
"I wouldn't say that I'm happy. It's the best we could do today. We were just very unlucky. We weren't quick enough either," he said.
As for Piastri, he must be pleased with his performance. Will he continue to compete with Lando? It's looking that way