Lando Norris’ Singapore GP radio offer to teammate Oscar Piastri branded ‘cringe’
Photo: Race Pictures
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Guenther Steiner has labelled the efforts by Lando Norris to help Oscar Piastri during the Singapore Grand Prix as 'cringe'.
Norris made the offer over the team radio with the thought of helping his McLaren teammate overtake Lewis Hamilton for fifth place. The gesture came a day after the teammates collided in the Sprint Race, ultimately causing the Australian to retire.
McLaren did not take up the offer by Norris, but Piastri ultimately did not need any assistance as he was easily able to pass Hamilton who was on much older tyres.
Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner said Norris was not being fake, but thought he was trying too hard to make up for the crash.
“I have to explain this,” he said. “I think they were sincere, but he overdid that. I mean, they were sincere. They were not fake, I must say. But he was overdoing it. And I was like, this is actually, what the young people call it? Cringe. This is cringe.”
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Schumacher says Norris is no Verstappen
Former Williams driver Ralf Schumacher also criticised Norris after the Sprint collision, arguing that McLaren shared some responsibility. He suggested the team could have told its drivers to hold position and protect their points late in the season.
Schumacher pointed to Norris’ earlier trip into the gravel at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, then compared him with Max Verstappen. He said the Singapore incident showed why Norris was not yet at Verstappen’s level, adding that “something like this hasn’t happened to Max yet.”
“I think the disappointment from Malaysia, with that embarrassing moment in the gravel trap, is a factor, and now this on top of it," Schumacher said. "Considering what he demands, even claiming to be as good as or better than Max Verstappen: something like this hasn’t happened to Max yet.”
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