Lando Norris appeared to be on his way to his first Formula 1 victory during the Russian Grand Prix. However, a rain shower threw a spanner in the works. Where Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, among others, dived in for wet tires, Norris decided not to. The McLaren driver stayed out on his dry-weather tires and that turned out to be the wrong choice when it started to rain harder. Hamilton was much faster after his pit stop and was able to take the lead and thus also Norris’ first victory from him. The McLaren driver eventually finished in seventh place.
Motorsport.com Norris asked what he would do if he found himself in a similar situation again. The Brit has no doubts about the answer. “Get out of the way when Lewis and Max are behind me? No, I’m never going to pull out.”
Even if Norris could help Verstappen or Hamilton win the championship, he wouldn’t be sidelined. “It doesn’t matter if I fight for the title or not. I ride for my team and for myself. I fight to win races and I will never give up a position to Max or Lewis or anyone else. I don’t care whether they need it to win the title.”
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