McLaren orders Lando Norris to not fight Max Verstappen after NEAR-MISS during Azerbaijan GP

McLaren instructed Lando Norris to focus on his own race after a near-miss collision with Max Verstappen while overtaking.

McLaren orders Lando Norris to not fight Max Verstappen after NEAR-MISS during Azerbaijan GP

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (Via: Imago, X/MrMatthew_CBF, screenshot)

Azerbaijan GP qualifying was a disappointing race for Lando Norris after a surprising early exit in the first round. This impacted his race starting position and he found himself in P17. The Briton had a decent start to the race and on lap 28 he was battling with Max Verstappen, who started the race from P6.

Lando Norris made a remarkable recovery, quickly moving up from 17th on the grid to challenge Max Verstappen for P5. However, after a near miss on the track, McLaren instructed Norris over the radio not to challenge Verstappen to avoid a collision like the one they had at the Austrian GP.

Lando, it doesn’t matter about Max!

Lando Norris was told over the radio
YouTube video

McLaren advised Norris to concentrate on his own race rather than the battle with Verstappen. Norris had made impressive progress from his starting position and the team wanted him to maintain that momentum. Meanwhile, Verstappen was complaining about issues with his brakes, which could negatively impact his performance during the race.

FS Video
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Max Verstappen reveals brakes failure during battle with Lando Norris for fifth position

Max Verstappen complained that his brakes weren’t working properly while battling Lando Norris for P5 in the Azerbaijan GP. His race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, advised cooling down the brakes for a few laps to restore their performance. However, this strategy put Verstappen at a disadvantage, causing him to lose position to Norris.

Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
My brakes don't work.
Max Verstappen said over the radio

Verstappen struggled to defend his position during the race because his brakes overheated, which caused him to lose ground to Lando Norris. Despite this setback, fans remained hopeful that the Dutchman could finish in a position that secured valuable points for his team in this 51 lap race.

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In the end, Norris managed to go past Verstappen and secure P4 while the Dutchman finished one position behind. Their standings were heavily aided by the late crash between front runners Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz.