"You're gonna need Oscar Piastri and you're gonna need the team": When Lando Norris' race engineer implored him to follow team orders

Lando Norris found himself in a dilemma during the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix when he was asked to give his race lead to teammate Oscar Piastri. After his initial hesitance, the Bristol-born's race engineer conveyed a stern message on the radio, which led to him conceding his position for Piastri.

The 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix pitted McLaren teammates Norris and Piastri against each other as they qualified P1 and P2, respectively. However, pole sitter Norris committed an error in the first lap, which allowed Piastri to retain the race lead for the first half of the race.

However, McLaren allowed the British driver to pit early, a strategy that put him back at P1. Meanwhile, the Australian driver, who pitted a few laps later, was promised his lead back.

The Papaya team came up with this strategy to put Lewis Hamilton at bay. Pitting Piastri first could have allowed Hamilton to undercut the teammates and threatened McLaren's dual podium finish.

While the strategy worked, Lando Norris was reluctant to swap positions with his teammate. Despite repeated requests from his race engineer, William Joseph, the Brit stayed defiant.

However, in what turned out to be a stern radio message, Joseph said:

"The way to win a championship is not by yourself; it's with a team. You're going to need Oscar and you're going to need the team."

Moments later, Norris slowed down, allowing his teammate Oscar Piastri to overtake him and clinch a victory.

Though, the unique strategy turned controversial as fans accused McLaren of manipulating Norris with emotional messages. The Brit was competing with Max Verstappen in the championship race, and many believed that he should have been prioritized over his teammate.

Regardless, Norris ended up falling 63 points short to Verstappen in the championship standings, finishing P2. Piastri, meanwhile, wasn't far behind as he secured P4 with 292 points.

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Lando Norris defends himself after 2024 Hungarian GP controversy

Lando Norris at F1 Hungarian Grand Prix (Image Source: Getty)

Meanwhile, Lando Norris didn't hold back when he was quizzed about being reluctant to swap positions with Oscar Piastri at the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. He claimed that he wanted to swap on the last lap, but his team feared safety car deployment.

Talking to Sky Sports, Norris said:

"I know what I'm going to do; I know what I'm not going to do. I was going to wait until the last lap, the last corner, but then they said if there was a safety car all of a sudden, then I couldn't let Oscar go through; it would have made me look like a bit of an idiot. Then I was like, 'Yeah, it's a fair point.'. And straight away I let him go."

Though McLaren's team dynamics were all over the place in Hungary, Piastri played the team game throughout the season to allow Lando Norris a fair chance at contesting for the championship.