“F**king holding me,” Sergio Perez lashes out on Lando Norris for blocking him to help Oscar Piastri during Azerbaijan GP
Lando Norris played the team game by holding Sergio Perez in order to help Oscar Piastri stay ahead of the Mexican.
Sergio Perez, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri (VIa: Imago)
As the F1 paddock rolled up to the Azerbaijan GP weekend, the noise was about how papaya rules had been formulated again in favor of Lando Norris. However, owing to his Q1 elimination, the Brit was on the back foot while Oscar Piastri started on the front row. This led to the team asking the championship contender to hold Sergio Perez as the Aussie was under threat of being undercut, which led to a radio outburst by Perez who blamed Norris for holding him up.
Lando Norris started the race from 15th on the grid and opted to go on the alternate strategy after having a horrendous qualifying session yesterday. This escalated him up the order when others pitted him. On the other hand, Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez fought to defend the second place as Charles Leclerc had disappeared into the front.
Subsequently, observing the threat of the 23-year-old being undercut by the Mexican, McLaren looked on towards Norris to hold Perez up for a few tenths.
Yeah, he's f**king holding me.Sergio Perez said over the radio
With the Brit becoming a moving chicane, Perez lost heaps of time. This resulted in Piastri coming out of the pits ahead of the Red Bull driver. This papaya dance had frustrated the 34-year-old who alleged Norris for blocking him, while his engineer agreed with his statement.
Lando Norris’ weekend might get better in Azerbaijan
With a subpar start to the weekend, fans labeled the Brit as a failed championship contender in front of Max Verstappen‘s might. Though he was unhappy with his Q1 elimination, he has been making moves up the grid and is on course to finish ahead of the Dutchman.
While Norris anticipated a decent result during the race, his evening might get even better as his championship rival has constantly tussled with the RB20.
My brakes are not working.Max Verstappen said over the radio
Ever since the Brit let Perez through, Verstappen soon joined the party and intended to make quick way past Norris. However, the reigning champion jumped on the radio and complained about his brakes. This was subsequently observed on track as he had opened a gap to his rival up ahead while the Mercedes of George Russell started throwing punches at the Dutchman.
As it stands, Norris helping Piastri has worked out as the Aussie has gotten past the Monegasque. Thus, if the 23-year-old could defend against Leclerc, then he could take his second-ever F1 win.
Geetansh Pasricha
(634 Articles Published)