Max Verstappen accused Lando Norris of costing him time on his final lap in qualifying in Singapore earlier this year. Did the McLaren driver do the same today to his team mate – and leading championship rival?
Heading into the final corner at the end of his last lap in qualifying Oscar Piastri gained on Norris, who had abandoned his run after a mistake.
Drivers prefer to leave substantial gaps to the cars ahead of them in qualifying in order to avoid being affected by the turbulent air from their cars. Piastri began his final lap 11 seconds behind the closest car ahead of him, Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls.
But after Norris slowed down Piastri arrived at turn 16 just three seconds behind his team mate.
Piastri’s final sector time was barely any different to his previous run: 23.259 seconds compared to 23.257s. And these were both faster than anyone else managed. But he may have missed an opportunity to improve further: his mini-sector time through the final corner was slower than his previous best.
A clip of Norris’s onboard video which circulated on social media after qualifying gives the impression he timed his return to the pits to coincide with his team mate’s track position. At one point Norris allowed Hadjar to overtake him, then was told by his race engineer Will Joseph that Piastri was approaching, upon which Norris accelerated and re-passed Hadjar.
However this occured partly because Hadjar abandoned his lap at around the same time and was receiving information about Piastri’s position on the circuit. Norris also had to bear in mind the need to obey the delta time between the two Safety Car lines as he returned to the pits.
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This was particularly pressing for Norris as he backed out of his final lap at turn two and had already slowed down to let several cars past. His radio exchanges with Joseph show who passed him and when:
| Joseph | Turn four Okay. Just be careful of Leclerc, coming out of turn three. |
| Joseph | Turn six Leclerc’s in four. |
| Joseph | Approaching turn seven Leclerc leaving five. |
| Joseph | Russell, on a ‘build’ lap before his final flying run, passes Norris before turn seven Leclerc leaving six Leclerc passes Norris |
| Joseph | Turn seven Then there’s Alonso at six. |
| Joseph | Exit turn seven Alonso’s approaching seven. Alonso passes Norris entering turn eight |
| Joseph | Turn eight Then there’ll be Hadjar at six |
| Joseph | Exit turn 10 Hadjar at seven |
| Joseph | Norris slows considerably approaching turn 12 Hadjar’s in 10. Hadjar goes off at the exit of turn 10 |
| Joseph | Hadjar’s in 11. Hadjar passes Norris, who accelerates |
| Joseph | Then Oscar’s in 10. Norris catches Hadjar at turn 14 and passes him |
| Joseph | Approaching turn 15 Oscar in 12. |
| Joseph | Turn 15 14, we’re box this lap. |
| Joseph | Norris pits And the boards are out. Not sure where to stop, to be honest. |
Norris slowed to let Hadjar pass him as he approached turn 12, which is the first of three consecutive high-speed corners in quick succession where there is little room to let cars past.
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As he did this, Hadjar was being warned Piastri was closing on him. Hadjar therefore slowed down to let Piastri pass him after the turn 12-13-14 sequence, as his radio exchange with race engineer Pierre Hamelin shows:
| Hadjar | Hadjar goes off at the exit of turn 10 Sorry. |
| Hamelin | Turn 12 Piastri pushing, eight. |
| Hamelin | Approaching turn 14 Box, box. |
| Hamelin | Exit turn 14 Piastri pushing, five. Norris repasses Hadjar |
| Hamelin | Approaching turn 15 Piastri four… Piastri two, coming now, coming now Piastri passes him |
| Hamelin | Next car Gasly, six, box, box. |
Norris passed Hadjar and continued to push through turns 15 and 16 on his way into the pits.
He might have done this in order to ensure he was as close to the delta time as possible. Or perhaps he saw an opportunity to inconvenience his team mate.
But if it was the latter, it was a significant risk to take. Last year Max Verstappen was given a one-place grid drop for exceeding the delta time and impeding a rival who was not on a flying lap. Had Norris exceeded the delta time and impeded a rival who was on a flying lap he would undoubtedly have received a more severe penalty.
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