Mark Webber on Lando Norris’ ‘charity win’ after latest McLaren team orders

Lando Norris was “not proud” of his Sprint victory in Brazil, gifted to him by Oscar Piastri, but Mark Webber says that “charity victory” is part of the sport.

Norris went into the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend 47 points behind Max Verstappen in the race for the 2024 F1 World title, and by the end of Saturday’s Sprint he was only 44 adrift.

‘Charity win’ for Lando Norris but it’s part of the sport, says Mark Webber

Although Norris set the pace in Sprint qualifying’s first two sessions, when it came down to the crunch it was his team-mate Oscar Piastri who grabbed pole position by 0.029s.

McLaren didn’t hide the intentions for the Sprint with Piastri giving a clear “yes” when asked if he would relinquish the win to his team-mate if it came down to it.

“I’ve said I would from when we first had these discussions,” he added. “It would be nice to win, but it’s one point different and it’s not the main race, so we’ll see.”

The Australian driver led off the line and even began to pull away from Norris before being asked to give his team-mate DRS assistance to help him keep Charles Leclerc and Verstappen behind him.

But after Verstappen overtook Leclerc and the VSC was introduced for Nico Hulkenberg’s stranded Haas, McLaren made the call for the two to swap positions. Norris raced to the win with Piastri second while Verstappen was penalised for a VSC infringement and dropped to fourth behind Leclerc.

“Oscar drove well and he deserved to win,” Norris admitted after the Sprint. “I’m not proud of winning a Sprint race – or any race – like this, so I thank Oscar and the team.”

“But that’s our objective,” he added. “It’s what we have to work towards as a team. We get the points in the Constructors’ and I get the points in the Drivers’ and that’s our target.”

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Webber, who manages Piastri, admits it wasn’t an easy call for the young Australian to receive but it was the right one for the team.

“It’s always tricky when you get the phone call from the team right, like you’ve got to start moving things around,” the former F1 driver told Channel 4.

“So of course, Oscar down to Turn 4, lift it out of the throttle, give Lando the victory and try and maximise his chance to try and get back into this fight. Obviously every point counts for him.

“Oscar was magnanimous in giving that position up, and then also for the championship it helps they get the one-two. Of course, that’s crucial for McLaren as well. So the result was good for the team and great for Lando.”

Going on to call it a “cracker little Sprint” race, Webber added: “Obviously with Lando having to get a little bit of a charity victory it’s all part of the sport.”

Alas Norris’ title challenge all but imploded in the Grand Prix as despite starting on pole position, he finished down in sixth place while Verstappen raced from 17th on the grid to the victory.

But while he extended his lead to 62 points with just 86 still in play, the Red Bull driver grabbing the trophy with one hand, McLaren still lead the Constructors’ Championship with 593 points. Ferrari are second, 36 points off the pace, with Red Bull a further 13 points back in third place.

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