Having two incredibly fast drivers in top-tier machinery is exactly what every Formula 1 team principal dreams of. But, as McLaren is quickly finding out, having two hyper-competitive alphas fighting for the same piece of asphalt usually leads to fireworks.
Following a highly publicised on-track clash between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix, the atmosphere inside the papaya garage has been noticeably tense. As the F1 paddock descends on the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Norris is finally shedding some light on the closed-door meetings that took place after the carbon fibre stopped flying.
The meeting in Brown's office
During Thursday's media day, Sky Sports F1's Ted Kravitz pressed Norris on the current rules of engagement. Kravitz jokingly asked if Norris was still allowed to "go for a gap" on anyone as long as it wasn't his team-mate.
"I can go for a gap on Oscar even," Norris quickly shot back.
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Surprised that McLaren CEO Zak Brown didn't completely lay down the law and ban all wheel-to-wheel combat between the team-mates, Kravitz asked if Norris managed to escape the boss's office without getting chewed out.
"Oh no, I got plenty of telling-offs and plenty of words have been said," the reigning champ admitted.
Racing is fine, crashing is not
While management clearly made their frustrations known regarding the Singapore incident, McLaren has decided not to implement strict team orders. Both drivers are still free to fight for position, provided they don't cost the team valuable Constructors' Championship points by putting each other in the wall.
"We're still allowed to race, we're still allowed to, yeah, we're still allowed to race," Norris explained, making sure to clarify the exact boundary lines set by the team. "But of course we can't have what happened last weekend and what has happened, even say here last year, we can't have that happening, so no, we're allowed to race, but obviously we can't have a coming together, and we have to avoid that in any opportunity possible."
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
With a traditional race format on the schedule for the US Grand Prix, Norris is eager to use the three full practice sessions to dial in his set-up and completely move past the intra-team drama.
"A lot, but we're in Austin now, so I'm looking forward to this weekend, putting the past behind me, and excited for Austin," he stated. "It's a track I love and ready to get going."