Lando Norris was believed to have been “annoyed” with Oscar Piastri after qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he failed to go as quick as the Australian in Q3.
Norris qualified third at Suzuka whilst Piastri did superbly to secure second on the grid, alongside reigning World Champion Max Verstappen.
Piastri has pushed Norris in recent races and has proved that he has what it takes to challenge the British driver, who was too much for Daniel Ricciardo to deal with during their two seasons together.
Qualifying on the front row was a great way for the rookie to celebrate his new contract with McLaren, which was announced ahead of the Grand Prix.
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Piastri has agreed to remain at McLaren until at least the end of 2026, meaning he’ll certainly enter the new power unit regulations with the Woking-based team.
As for Norris, BBC F1 commentator Harry Benjamin shared his view after qualifying that Norris seemed a “bit annoyed” to have been beaten by Piastri, according to the 23-year-old’s body language.
“I was reading his body language. I think Norris was a bit annoyed with out-qualifying Piastri,” Benjamin said on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast after qualifying.
Norris’ frustration boiled over into the race on Sunday, after finding himself behind Piastri once again.
The Brit had overtaken Piastri on the run into Turn 1 but found himself behind the 22-year-old mid-race after his team-mate performed the undercut.
Norris called for team orders to be implemented, after believing that he was losing time behind Piastri.
McLaren ultimately accepted Norris’ request and ordered Piastri to swap positions with his team-mate.
This promoted Norris into second and demoted Piastri to third, the positions they finished the race in.
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It meant that Norris claimed his fourth P2 of the season, whilst Piastri secured his maiden F1 podium at last.
Piastri was also voted as the ‘Driver of the Day’ for his mesmeric efforts, with him continuing to prove why McLaren worked so hard to sign him from Alpine.
As for Norris, his podium has seen him move level on 115 points with George Russell, in seventh in the Drivers’ Championship.