Lando Norris urges McLaren to ‘keep working hard’ after clinching Constructorss Championship lead

McLaren took the lead in the Constructor's Championship due to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's stellar results at the Azerbaijan GP.


Lando Norris urges McLaren to ‘keep working hard’ after clinching Constructorss Championship lead

Lando Norris (via imago)

McLaren has been building upon its great form since the start of the season and has now appeared as the lead car in the four-team pack. This development was also noticed in the Constructors’ Championship as the English team took the lead after the Azerbaijan GP.

However, to keep the team aligned on its goal and not lose mojo, Lando Norris urged McLaren to keep working hard as seven race weekends remain before the end of the 2024 campaign. Norris and Oscar Piastri have been at the sharp end of the field ever since McLaren brought an upgrade package to Miami, catapulting themselves up on the grid.

Moreover, a great weekend in Baku, where the team scored a huge haul of points, with the Aussie winning a hard-fought battle against Charles Leclerc and Norris recovering to P4, aided the team in taking the Constructors’ Championship lead from Red Bull. Subsequently, Norris insisted the team not get off the track and push on for the remaining races on the calendar.

FS Video
It feels good going into this race knowing we’re currently first in the Constructors’ Championship. The team have done and keep doing an excellent job. We know we now need to keep working hard and delivering consistent results.
Lando Norris said in an interview

The 24-year-old claimed getting the lead in the Constructor’s Championship was a massive positive from the Azerbaijan GP weekend. Norris also asserted that the team knows the importance of hard work as they have shown in the first half of the season. He backed McLaren to have the same determination in the next few rounds while aiding him in the driver’s title.

Lando Norris gave an update on the papaya rules situation after the race in Baku

Heading into the Azerbaijan GP weekend, the Woking-based squad announced their intentions of prioritizing Lando Norris in the intra-team dynamics. On the other hand, the latter is considered a real championship contender, which urged the team to take this step.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Ironically, Piastri won the race in Baku where his team had decided to give the Brit priority. This led Norris to address some questions regarding how the pair would go on working in subsequent races.

Those are not papaya rules. I saved a bit more tyre in the middle sector and helped my team-mate and maybe that allowed him to win.
Lando Norris said in an interview with DAZN Spain

Norris said that holding up Sergio Perez was not part of the papaya rules team orders and that he simply helped his teammate stay ahead of the Mexican by not letting him get undercut.

Apart from this, Norris’ climb for the Driver’s Standings has slowed down a bit. The Englishman trails Max Verstappen by 59 points and gained only three points on his rival in Baku. Thus, the McLaren driver needs great results in the next few rounds or else his title charge might come to nothing in the end.