Lando Norris admitted that he was not “not proud” of his victory in the Sprint in Brazil, offered by Oscar Piastri, but Mark Webber, the Australian's manager claims that this victory “charitable” is part of sport.
Norris entered the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend 47 points behind Max Verstappen in the world title race, and at the end of Saturday's Sprint he was just 44 points behind.
Piastri took pole position for the Sprint by 29 thousandths and the Australian driver took the lead from the start and even began to widen the gap on Norris before being asked to help his teammate use DRS to help him keep Charles Leclerc and Verstappen behind him.
But after Verstappen overtook Leclerc and VSC was deployed for Nico Hulkenberg's stalled Haas, McLaren decided the two had to swap positions. Enough to give Norris an extra point and the Sprint victory as a result.
“Oscar drove well and he deserved to win,” Norris admitted after the Sprint. “I’m not proud of winning a Sprint race – or any race – like this, so I thank Oscar and the team.”
Webber, who manages the Piastri quarry, admits it was not an easy decision for the young Australian to make, but it was the right decision for the team.
“It’s always tricky to receive a radio call from the team with an instruction that puts pressure on you for the future since Oscar was going to find himself within shooting range of Verstappen and Leclerc.”
“So of course Oscar went all the way to turn 4, put his foot down, gave Lando the win and tried to maximize his chances of staying in the fight for 2nd place. Obviously every point counts for him and for McLaren.”
“Oscar was magnanimous in giving up this position, and it also helped them get the championship double. Of course, it is also crucial for McLaren to have a good understanding and understanding of the overall situation.”
“So the result was good for the team and excellent for Lando. The sprint remains a 'small race', so Lando had a small charity victory, but that's part of the sport and Oscar behaved very well against instructions.”
