Ted Kravitz’s ‘unsayable’ Lando Norris question after McLaren team orders drama

Ted Kravitz has speculated that Lando Norris may have been out to prove that he is “not too nice” to become F1 World Champion by threatening to ignore McLaren team orders at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Polesitter Norris lost the lead to team-mate Oscar Piastri at the start of the Budapest race, but was catapulted ahead of the Australian after McLaren opted to service his car first during the final round of pit stops.

Ted Kravitz questions Lando Norris motive in McLaren team orders row

That created a tense scenario in which Norris threatened to ignore the team’s pleas over team radio to reverse positions with Piastri.

Norris eventually ceded to the team’s request and slowed to let Piastri past in the closing laps, with the latter’s maiden F1 victory overshadowed by the saga.

Norris, who claimed his first career win in Miami in early May, later insisted that he had always intended to return the lead to Piastri.

Lando Norris: Runaway leader? An alternative F1 2024 universe

👉 The F1 2024 Drivers’ Championship standings without Max Verstappen

👉 Revealed: The F1 2024 Constructors’ Championship without Red Bull

The British driver has often been accused of lacking the ruthlessness required to win consistently in F1, with many great Champions in the sport’s history – including Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Sebastian Vettel – famed for their uncompromising approach.

Speaking after the race, Kravitz speculated over the motive behind Norris’s initial refusal to swap positions with Piastri and suggested that the British driver may have been trying to dispel the perception that he is “too nice.”

Appearing on Sky F1’s post-race coverage, Kravitz said: “What is the point that Lando was wanting to make?

“Was it, ‘The car wasn’t good at the start, that’s why Oscar was where he was at the start and that meant that I had to go off and concede the place to Oscar’?

“If you’re Lando Norris, [are you thinking]: ‘Do I not get any credit for putting the thing on pole position? Is that not in my credit bank? And am I not the one chasing Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship?’

“Of course, it would have been the same [number of] points for the McLaren team whoever was first and second.

“And then there’s the imponderable – and perhaps the unsayable – [question], which I might say anyway.

“Was Lando thinking: ‘Do I need to prove that I’m a Champion who will do anything to win? Do I need to prove that I’m a Verstappen, a Vettel, a Schumacher, a [Lewis] Hamilton? Do I need to prove that I’m not too nice to be a World Champion in that way?’

“One for you to think about.”

Speaking to reporters ahead of the race in Budapest, Norris was adamant that he does not care “what people say” and sees no need to “act like an idiot” to show that he can be ruthless.

He said: “I don’t care what people say.

“I’m a nice guy and I try to be respectful in every way that I can, but that has absolutely zero relevance for what happens on track.

“As much as people want to just come up with their own thoughts and talk about these things, what happened 10 years ago and 15 and 20 years ago was completely different to now.

“If I want, I can be a lot more of a d**k and act like an idiot, have that persona and make people think that [I’m ruthless], but I don’t need to and I don’t want to.”

Read next: Explained: How McLaren expanded its F1 operation to include IndyCar program