Norris negates McLaren's explanations and is adamant 'Piastri had an advantage'

16:41, 18 Aug

byNorberto Mujica

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri remain locked in a fierce title fight, and every on-track detail is now being scrutinised between the two McLaren teammates.

At Spa, the battle came to a head when Piastri overtook Norris down the Kemmel Straight on lap one, a move Norris has since argued was influenced by a battery issue on his car.

Norris lost momentum at the Bus Stop chicane before locking up into Turn 1, allowing Piastri to close in and carry better speed through Eau Rouge.

With a lighter lift than his teammate and the help of a slipstream, Piastri was able to sling past Norris before Les Combes.

McLaren later clarified that both cars were affected by the same battery setting, but Norris remained adamant a week on that his teammate had the edge.

Lando Norris managed to turn a P3 into a P1 in Hungary, edging out Piastri by less than a second

Norris: ‘Piastri had a slight advantage’

Reflecting on the moment, Norris admitted it was “a tougher one to take” but stood by his view that the issue cost him more than it did his teammate.

“We had some, not problems, but some incorrect settings with the battery. Which meant he had a slight advantage of battery compared to me which certainly didn’t help,” he said.

“Even if I had a mega last corner or a mega Turn 1, he probably would have passed me anyway.

"Sometimes you just have to accept that. As much as I’d like to win them all, you can’t.

"I don’t feel like I did a bad job, but with the issue, it was hard to say. He had a pretty good chance of passing me no matter what.”

Currently both drivers are separated by 9 points in the championship standings, with the Briton trailing the Australian.