Formula 1 News: McLaren duo address Monza controversy ahead of Baku

(GMM) Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (pictured) have fronted the media in Baku after their Monza team orders storm.

Norris, who was booed on the podium, hit back at the negativity. “In the world that we live in nowadays, all people want to do, you know, is be negative and talk badly about others,” he said.

He insisted McLaren is unaffected all the by outside noise. “It also doesn’t affect us as a team. We continue to do things our way, whether people agree with it or not.”

Some fans accused the team of favoring Norris after his slow pitstop compelled the McLaren pitwall to instruct a reluctant Piastri to give up P2.

Norris rejected the suggestion that the decision was purely about the slow pitstop. “It was more the other factors,” he explained.

“We both agreed afterward and accepted it. That’s what we agreed on as a team.”

He also turned his fire on the press. “You need headlines. You need people to read things. So, for me, it doesn’t surprise me at all.”

As for Piastri, who leads Norris by 31 points in the standings, he admitted the fallout had been noisy. “Obviously I noticed there was a lot of commotion, emotion, and controversy, that there were angry fans, and that everyone had an opinion,” he said.

“Of course I understand that, but I think this was a situation where we couldn’t have done it right. The other way around, it would have been wrong too.”

Asked if it could happen again, the Australian replied: “I think in exactly the same scenario, then yes, I would expect it to be the same. But I think the likelihood that you’re going to have the exact same scenario is virtually impossible. So, you know, every scenario is going to look different.”

He confirmed that “a lot of discussions” had taken place with the team since Monza. “We’ve clarified a lot of things, and we know how we’re going to go racing going forward, which is the most important thing,” said Piastri.

And he denied his manager Mark Webber, famously on the wrong side of team orders in the past, had been furious. “Not a lot, really,” Piastri smiled when asked what his manager had said about the commotion.

“Mark is very much on the same page. And again, I’ve discussed with the team and with Mark about what happened, and we’re all aligned going forward.”

Meanwhile, Norris admitted he might even welcome help from Max Verstappen in the title fight. “If no one is competing with us and we finish first and second every week, it will make my job even more difficult,” he told RTBF.

“Does that mean I would prefer to see Max between me and Oscar? Sometimes that could help,” he added with a smile.