Oscar Pastri claims he had ‘full trust’ in Lando Norris to give back race lead at Hungarian GP

Oscar Pastri expressed his faith in Lando Norris over inheriting the race lead during the Hungarian GP.

Oscar Pastri claims he had ‘full trust’ in Lando Norris to give back race lead at Hungarian GP

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (images via IMAGO)

Lando Norris was instructed by his team to give the position back to Oscar Piastri after an early pitstop strategy during the Hungarian GP. McLaren decided to pit the Briton early which gave him an advantage over other drivers to get past quickly. Oscar Piastri said he knew Norris would give back the position to him, because of their trust in each other.

McLaren would have faced a tough situation if a late safety car had been needed, as it would have deprived them of the chance to move Oscar Piastri back into the lead. Although, the Australian wasn’t particularly worried about the situation. However, he did mention one concern that if a safety car would have been brought, it could’ve taken control away from the drivers.

I don't think I was really concerned. The only thing I was concerned about a bit was if there was a safety car, then it would have taken the situation out of our hands, would have taken the control out of our hands.
Oscar Piastri Said, as reported by RacingNews365
YouTube video

Piastri mentioned there was nothing concerning him other than a safety car disrupting their plan. He mentioned that he and his team had discussed how they would handle the situation if it came up. Despite his concern, the 23-year-old had complete confidence in his team and in teammate Lando Norris. He trusted that they would work together to manage any issues and ensure everything would be handled smoothly.

FS Video
But we'd spoken about it at the time of the stop so that we would sort it back out. I had full trust in everyone in the team, including Lando, that we would make that happen.
Oscar Piastri added.
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Oscar Piastri claims their strategy gave Lando Norris an advantage

Oscar Piastri explained the situation that the team decided to make Lando Norris pit early in the race to cover Lewis Hamilton. Pistri’s job was to stay out on the track for a longer time to cover Max Verstappen . Both strategies were about making sure they had the best chance to get ahead and be safe, based on when the other drivers were likely to pit.

The information I had at the time was Lando was boxing early to cover Lewis, and I was going long to cover Max, essentially, because I knew that he'd stop later, and I think we were just being very safe.
Oscar Piastri stated.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (image via IMAGO)

Further, Piastri mentioned that when Norris pitted early it gave him an undercut of driving faster with a fresh set of tires and getting ahead of drivers who hadn’t stopped. This move helped Norris, but it also made the race strategy more complex. The 23-year-old acknowledged that this situation might have introduced extra challenges. He was confident that they will review and analyze the situation later. The Aussie wanted to understand what happened and how they might improve their strategy in the future.

That naturally gave Lando an undercut, maybe made things a little bit more complicated than it needed to be. But yeah, I'm sure that's something we'll go through.
Oscar Piastri added.

Certainly, Oscar Piastri stated their strategy worked for Lando Norris giving him a slight advantage over others. If Norris wanted he would’ve won the race. However on team’s order he gave his position back to Piastri who has trust in him. Fans were delighted witnessing this amazing race by the oranges. They hope to see more such performances from the young talents in the upcoming races.

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