Lando Norris’ uncompromising driving style at the Singapore GP against his McLaren and World Championship rival Oscar Piastri has raised eyebrows in Formula 1. RTL expert Christian Danner believes there is a “personality transformation” in Norris, sees the end of the Papaya Rules and sharply criticizes McLaren.
Lando Norris has long been considered an F1 sensitive who lacks the necessary toughness in duels a la Max Verstappen, but also his stable rival Oscar Piastri.
At the night GP in Singapore, the Brit revised this image, stayed on the inside lane after the start, rumbled into Piastri’s car, passed his world championship rival and ultimately gained three (possibly important) points in the title race.
“For me, Lando Norris was a riot,” RTL expert Christian Danner analyzed the scene with the McLaren drivers in “AvD-Motorsport-Talk” from “Motorsport-Magazin.com”.
After the weak qualifying and fifth place, the Englishman appeared “so sickly again” and said, “and oh, I’m so bad, I did everything wrong,” Danner said. During the race he suddenly became “the wild, tough Lando” who “kept straight at the start as if there was no tomorrow.”
Together with Norris’ “verbal aggression” after the race, one could think that the World Cup runner-up had “undergone a personality transformation,” said the long-time RTL commentator.
Danner: “No more peace, joy, pancakes” at McLaren
However, Norris drove into the first corner “much too quickly and optimistically” after the start, “that’s a fact,” criticized Danner. Instead of hitting Verstappen, who was braking in front of him, “he decided, I’ll steer to the right, I don’t care what my teammate does.” The fact that Piastri was angry about the action “is understandable and understandable.”
For Danner, one thing is certain: “For me, this is the beginning of the end of the Papaya Rules,” predicted the former F1 driver. “I don’t think it will be possible to continue working with these two in peace, joy and pancakes in the future.”
The core of the Papaya Rules is that the McLaren drivers can race against each other freely as long as it is fair. “We can now be prepared for something,” believes Danner with a view to the hot final phase of the season.
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By focusing on fair treatment of the drivers, McLaren had maneuvered itself into a dead end, Danner criticized those responsible for the team.
“This isn’t a kindergarten and certainly not a dream concert. What’s most important here is that you decide exactly how it should be decided: namely, that one of the two Formula 1 world champions becomes and doesn’t pay too much attention to people’s sensitivities – mental, moral and other.”
Reality has simply caught up with the team “and its rules,” said the F1 expert.