S Poddar
Lando Norris made the conscious decision to hand over victory in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race to his teammate Oscar Piastri, giving McLaren a shocking one-two finish ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
The decision was an act of sportsmanship from Norris who repaid the gesture by returning the favor after Piastri had stepped aside for him to gain the sprint win in Sao Paulo early this month. And approaching the finish line, Norris doused the speed so Piastri could win at the final straight end.
Norris had led the way since the beginning of the race and had played a leading part in helping Piastri keep Russell at bay on his consistent pressure from the rear. The Mercedes man, starting second, was passed down at Turn Two on the opening lap by Piastri, who spent the rest of the race mounting attacks at him.
To keep Russell on his tail, Norris would manage the pace carefully such that it allowed Piastri access to the DRS overtaking aid, which complicated the chances of an overtaking move by Russell on his way to close enough to actually make a move.
Reflecting on his actions, Norris said, “I planned to do it since Brazil. It was probably a little bit sketchy – the team told me not to do it, but I thought we could get away with it, and we did. I don’t mind. I’m not here to win sprint races. I’m here to win grands prix and world championships, but that’s not gone to plan.”
Norris said he and his team were focused on giving McLaren a one-two finish-even if that meant holding back just a little bit. “We’re happy as a team. I probably could’ve pushed a little bit more than I was doing, but we wanted to keep the others behind and make sure George couldn’t get in front.
Piastri, who spent much of the race under attack, praised the teamwork. “It was defense the whole race. Just didn’t quite have the pace. Some great teamwork. Without that help, it would have been a much more difficult sprint.”
Russell, visibly frustrated, acknowledged McLaren’s strategy but expressed his irritation. “I understand why they did that, but nevertheless, it was pretty infuriating. This afternoon is the big one.”
Russell, who narrowly missed out on sprint pole during Friday’s qualifying session, made two significant overtaking attempts into Turn One but was left feeling that Piastri’s defensive moves were overly aggressive.
McLaren’s hopes for constructors’ championship remain high as they will be able to win the title this weekend if they can manage a one-two finish in both sprint and the grand prix with the fastest lap in Sunday’s main race.
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari was also part of the lead group, riding in the ‘DRS train’ throughout the race. Meanwhile, his teammate Charles Leclerc recovered from an early setback to finish fifth. Leclerc had been passed by Lewis Hamilton on the first lap but reclaimed his position with six laps to go, delivering an intense side-by-side battle before securing the move at Turn Four.
Hamilton, who will join Ferrari next season, ended the sprint in sixth place. Behind him, Nico Hulkenberg of Haas finished seventh, while newly crowned world champion Max Verstappen took eighth after a challenging start.
Verstappen was on the losing end of an intense jostling battle for the first few corners, losing a position to both Hamilton and Hulkenberg, which meant that he dropped from sixth to ninth on the opening lap. The Red Bull driver experienced two oversteer moments through Turn Two and Turn Four, allowing Pierre Gasly to slip past.
As the McLaren duo celebrates its runaway performance, the team would like to seize more momentum to carry through the grand prix-and the constructors’ title is tantalizingly within their reach.
