Norris regrets team orders row overshadowed Piastri win

Lando Norris is 76 points behind leader Max Verstappen in the drivers' championship

Lando Norris says he is not proud that McLaren's team orders drama at the Hungarian Grand Prix has overshadowed team-mate Oscar Piastri's maiden Formula 1 victory.

The 24-year-old was pitted ahead of race leader Piastri during the final pit stops at the Hungaroring, placing him at the front of the field and Australian Piastri in second place.

After several radio messages between himself and his engineer Will Joseph, Norris finally obeyed the request to move aside with two laps remaining so Piastri could claim the win.

While the one-two finish was a moment to celebrate for McLaren, Norris says the intra-team row was something he has "not felt too proud about".

He added: "Could it have been handled slightly differently from both a team side and from a personal side? Yes, absolutely. We wouldn't be having this conversation now in some ways."

Norris, who started on pole position but was overtaken by Piastri on the opening lap, said if the same situation happens again, the right thing to do will be to let his team-mate "pass straight away".

"It's such a stupid thing that I didn't because we're free to race," he added. "I could just let him pass and still try to race and overtake him.

"It sounds so simple now, but it's not something that went through my head at the time."

Norris heads into this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix second in the drivers' championship, but some critics felt his decision to give up a winning opportunity - even if it would have caused tension within the team - was something other top drivers would not have contemplated.

"Whether people on the outside think, and come up with their own stories, of what happened and what I would've done and wouldn't have done - I don't mind about that," he said.

"The fact we had a one-two and that was barely a headline after the race - nothing was really spoken about it from that side - that's the bit I felt worst about.

"But it's the things that I could have done; the fact that I clouded over Oscar's race win, his first race win in F1, is something I've not felt too proud about."

Round 14 in Belgium is the final race before F1's mid-season summer break.

Would other drivers obey team orders?

Oscar Piastri (left) said he and Lando Norris played Monopoly on the way back from Hungary last weekend and added the pair were "all good"

During the news conference at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Thursday, other drivers gave their opinion on the McLaren situation in Hungary.

"A team order is a team order," said Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. "And I think the team always comes first."

The Spaniard added: "It's been that way, the way I've approached my Formula 1 career over these last 9-10 years. And yeah, a team order, as much as it hurts, and it must have hurt to have let Oscar by, it's a team order."

Haas' Kevin Magnussen admitted "it would have certainly been tempting to hold on to [the race win]", while Sauber's Valtteri Bottas joked he had been on the end of such calls during his time partnering seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

"There's certain rules - depends on the team, depends on the situation," said Bottas. "But normally it comes back to you."

RB's Daniel Ricciardo, who spent two seasons at McLaren in 2021 and 2022, said a driver sometimes needs the clarity of the pit wall in order to make the right choice.

"It's like you see a win in front of you, and that's it," said the Australian.

"You know, they're talking about the championship and we win as a team and you might need Oscar's help and this and that. And I think that's kind of the perspective sometimes you need, I guess, in the heat of the moment."