Formula 1 Brazilian GP
Piastri ready to hand Brazil F1 sprint win to Norris
Piastri grabbed sprint pole in Sao Paulo ahead of Norris, but would be willing to swap positions if needed
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Nov 2, 2024, 4:36 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
Oscar Piastri says he would be willing to give up a potential victory in the sprint race of Formula 1's Brazilian Grand Prix to help McLaren team-mate Lando Norris in the championship, despite getting pole position in sprint qualifying on Friday.
Norris trails title favourite Max Verstappen by 47 points after taking 10 out of the Dutchman's lead in Mexico, and the Briton will have to increase the rate of points he is gaining if he is to overhaul the Red Bull driver by Abu Dhabi's season finale.
Watch: Why Interlagos Is a Major Challenge for F1 Teams in 2024 - Brazil GP Friday Reaction
McLaren decided at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix to support Norris in his title bid, with Piastri expected to help his team-mate if the situation called for it. At the time McLaren said Piastri wouldn't be asked to sacrifice grand prix victories for Norris. But the Australian says he wouldn't have a problem with handing his partner a less important sprint win, with a one-point difference between each position in the top eight.
"We'll see what the pace is like tomorrow for both of us," Piastri told Sky Sports F1. "I think first and second is the first objective, and then we'll see what the order it is.
"I know Lando is in the running for the drivers' standings, and for the team it doesn't matter which way around we are."
Read Also:
Asked if he would give away a victory, he replied: "Yes, I've said I would when we had these discussions. It would be nice to win, but it's a one-point difference and it's not the main race, so we'll see.
"Lando needs the points in the driver standings a lot more than I do. Of course, I still want to win, so I put in the effort and have good pace that I'm sure that won't go unnoticed."
Piastri grabbed Sao Paulo's sprint pole over Norris by a mere 0.029s as McLaren secured a front-row lockout, which has been somewhat of a return to one-lap form for Piastri after struggling to match Norris in qualifying lately.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
"I think it was coming together maybe a bit better than we expected, but I think we felt pretty comfortable after FP1 this morning," he explained.
"The [resurfaced] track was just moving on really quickly, it was like a second and a half quicker by the end. The last lap on softs, they hung on for a second lap, which was nice, and I managed to put it on pole."
Piastri said McLaren's new rear wing, which is an option in between its low- and medium-downforce wings, delivered as expected and was a nice little boost on a weekend the papaya team's direct rivals didn't bring upgrades.
"Yeah, it's nice," he said. "It's a constant push from the team to try and get the car even quicker, and this wing is a nice new upgrade for us here. We're pretty happy with it."
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article F1 team-mates' qualifying battles: Brazilian GP
Next article F1 drivers 'trying to see the end of the straight' on bumpy Interlagos track
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
11 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Carlos Sainz: "Difficult to be convinced" that F1 2026 can finish in the Middle East
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
13 h
Carlos Sainz: "Difficult to be convinced" that F1 2026 can finish in the Middle East
More from
Lando Norris
McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
More from
McLaren
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
McLaren to use final 2026 developments to test 2027 F1 car concepts
Formula 1
Formula 1
McLaren to use final 2026 developments to test 2027 F1 car concepts
Latest news
2027 Winter Series calendar: Three series across five circuits
General
Misc General 13 min
2027 Winter Series calendar: Three series across five circuits
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
35 min
Ducati says Aprilia “can do whatever they want” amid team order talks in MotoGP
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
57 min
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
3 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe