In home McLaren there is satisfaction with the result obtained by their drivers in Azerbaijanwhere Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris both crossed the finish line in Baku in the points. The most interesting aspect is to be found in the eighth place obtained by the Australian driver, who in this way is recovering from a decidedly complex period and lacking in satisfactions in terms of placements in the standings. Yet, despite the positive result for him and for the team, there is still a little ‘yellow’ on the final result.
The case was consummated in the last laps of the race, during which the McLaren pit wall pushed Ricciardo to close the gap on Alonso, 7th and ahead of him in the standings. With the passing of the laps, and with the objective increasingly difficult to achieve, McLaren warned the Australian to step aside to allow Norris to be able to catch up on the Spaniard from the Alpine. Shortly thereafter, just as the Brit looked close to overtaking his teammate, the same team did denied the attack on Ricciardoall to return the favors made by the latter in the past GPs towards the English.
Interviewed later by f1.comNorris admitted that he respected the team’s directions, but that any disrespect from the radio team would have led him to eighth place finish: “I am a team player and I accepted that I could not overtake – He admitted – Daniel helped me in between. It was a ride where he couldn’t outrun me. If the favor to be returned is that of not overtaking in the last three laps, I think I have to accept it and that it is right, without impropriety. It’s just that in racing you always want to push to find the limit, but I could have done it when I was inside Turn 1 and I gave way to him and then let him pass. I could have finished eighth if I had been a little more rebellious. I accept what we have done as a team, I think our work has been strong. Our goal was to be in the points with both cars and that’s exactly what we did, so I’m satisfied ”.
However, Norris admitted that he would not be as helpful in case the two McLaren drivers were fighting for the win: “If you are fighting for a championship or for the top three, maybe it would have been a little different – He admitted – but for now we just want to be on top as a team. I accept that this is the priority over anything else. Perhaps out of pride, as a driver you want to get higher in the championship, but honestly it doesn’t change much if I finish eighth, ninth, seventh, sixth. My goal is to win one day, so I think the fastest way to do it is to run well as a team and get maximum points as a team. And that’s what I did today ”.
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