How does McLaren act?

Norris makes it clear: “I won’t beg for it!”

In top form: McLaren driver Lando Norris(Bild: AFP/APA/Manaure Quintero)

As Lando Norris is currently making up points on championship leader Max Verstappen race by race, questions are getting louder as to whether McLaren would not want to fully back the Englishman. However, when asked about a stable order, the championship runner-up made it clear: "I'm not going to beg for it!"

The fact that the McLaren Formula 1 team allows its drivers to drive at their own discretion is met with mixed feelings among fans and the media. Had Oscar Piastri not passed Norris in the first corner at Monza, for example, and perhaps even kept Charles Leclerc at bay, it would have been entirely possible for the 24-year-old to leave Italy with 25 points in his luggage. In the end, it was "only" 15.

"Then it's also fair"
"I'm here to show as good a race as possible. If Oscar does this job better, then it's fair that he finishes ahead of me," said Norris in a sporting manner despite missing out on the points. What's more, a title probably tastes better when you have conquered it under your own steam. "I wouldn't say we're running out of time. We can still do it," says the Briton, who still believes he has a chance.

Norris is 62 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' standings. With eight races still to go, everything is still possible for the two-time GP winner ...