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    • How Norris demanded a position swap with Piastri to win the sprint race · RaceFans
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    How Norris demanded a position swap with Piastri to win the sprint race · RaceFans

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    Lando Norris won the Interlagos sprint race because his team gave way to him with two laps to go.

    Oscar Piastri led from pole position until lap 22 when McLaren asked the two to swap places.

    The position swap was widely expected as Norris poses the biggest threat to championship leader Max Verstappen. But with Charles Leclerc and Verstappen chasing their cars at the start of the race, McLaren kept its drivers at the front of the field in first and second until they felt it was time to swap their cars.

    Finally Verstappen overtook Leclerc and caught up with Norris. When Nico Hülkenberg stopped on the track due to a technical problem, McLaren responded at Norris’s urging by swapping drivers.

    “Ideally you would do it earlier,” admitted team boss Andrea Stella after the race, “but it never happened that this would happen in a safe situation, because as soon as you swap you would have the man in third place who would have one has the opportunity to overtake McLaren and that would not be in line with our principle that the team result comes first.”

    At one point, Norris expressed concern that the team hadn’t swapped the position sooner. But Stella said they would be careful not to jeopardize the maximum points for the team.

    “We watched the gaps to Leclerc and (then) Verstappen beforehand to see if we could have managed an easy overtaking between Lando and an Oscar before the end,” Stella told Sky. “But in fact this gap never emerged.

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    “So we had to watch out for a case of a safety car or a virtual safety car. It actually appeared to be due to the incident where the car stalled on the track. So we executed it immediately.”

    He praised the drivers and their race engineers for their communication. “The team did well, but it wouldn’t have been possible if both drivers hadn’t worked so well together.

    “We are definitely very pleased with the discussions that are taking place and with the support that Oscar Lando has given.”

    McLaren’s radio messages from the sprint race in Interlagos

    Oscar Piastri and Tom Stallard

    Stallard Good stuff. Tire management already looks good. The cars drove fine.
    Stallard He is 1.7 seconds behind Leclerc.
    Stallard Tire update, please.
    Piastri Feels okay. It’s probably a little difficult for me to leave the exit.
    Stallard At Mergulho
    Give Lando DRS.
    Stallard Distance to Lando 1.1. We want to get him into DRS by the 11th management tournament.
    Stallard Lando 0.9.
    Stallard Lando to Leclerc is 1.2. If we can, widen that gap, Oscar.
    Piastri Leclerc is now back in Lando’s DRS.
    Stallard Ten rounds, including this one. Ten rounds, including this one.
    Stallard Okay, so the distance to Leclerc is 1.3. If Lando’s attacks don’t make things too difficult at the moment, we’ll of course be happy. We want to try to catch up with Leclerc.
    Stallard Verstappen has passed Leclerc. Verstappen has passed Leclerc. Six more rounds. We believe Verstappen is faster than Leclerc.
    Stallard Oscar, Hülkenberg stopped in turn 10. Double yellow, double yellow.
    Stallard Oscar, if possible, switch positions with Lando. No, Hülkenberg is on his way! Don’t swap positions. Do not swap positions.
    Stallard Oscar swap position in round four. Verstappen is 1.2 behind Lando. There could be a safety car. Swap positions on round four.
    Stallard Piastri lets Norris pass
    Thanks, buddy. Verstappen 1.2. Dirty air, more tire management. Still double yellow.
    Stallard Use the battery. Understand… VSC Oscar, VSC! Delta positive. And you can move on to the fourth strategy. Stay outside. There are still two laps to go.
    Stallard For the reboot, suggest strat nine. VSC driving.
    Stallard Hülkenberg’s car is still on the inside, turn 10.
    Stallard There is still double yellow here. Hülkenberg’s car is still on the side of the track.
    Stallard VSC end, charge off, charge off, check delta. This is the final round. DRS activated.
    Stallard At Juncao
    Overtaking. Verstappen 0.9.
    Piastri Well done, everyone. Good day to the team. Finding a bit of pace, but well done by all.

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    Lando Norris and Will Joseph

    Joseph 0.6 front, 1.3 rear. Suggests red A6.
    Joseph Leclerc with DRS.
    Joseph Leclerc with DRS.
    Joseph Okay, got it. Be careful with the snaps on the back right.
    Joseph Lando, we understand. Just keep an eye on Leclerc. The gap is 1.1, so he doesn’t have DRS this time.
    Norris I’m not sure what I’m doing here, buddy. I thought we talked about it.
    Joseph Understood. Keep doing what you’re doing. Just be very careful as the back right part is hot. Leclerc with DRS.
    Norris Yeah, whatever.
    Joseph Leclerc 0.7, Oscar 1.2, glad we got DRS back.
    Joseph Given the current gap to Leclerc, we’ll be happy if we can hold on to these positions until the last lap.
    Joseph Suggest red A4, red A4.
    Norris Yes, but I will overtake.
    Joseph So, Lando, Oscar is picking up the slack a little bit to help us keep DRS. But if you try to overtake, he wouldn’t give you a hard time. Distance to Leclerc 1.3. From our side, we are happy with it.
    Joseph The car behind is now Verstappen, 1.7.
    Joseph With six laps to go, Verstappen 1.4. And Lando slowed down in turn one as the tailwind increased there.
    Joseph Lando Hülkenberg stopped in turn 10.
    Joseph Double yellow.
    Norris Yes, then, now.
    Joseph I’m trying, buddy, I’m trying.
    Joseph Verstappen 1.2.
    Joseph Okay, that’s going to happen in turn four. Verstappen 1.2 behind you. Be careful if there is a VSC or Safety Car.
    Joseph Piastri lets Norris pass
    And make sure you continue to give Oscar DRS. There is still double yellow here. Oscar 0.9.
    Bonnington VSC, VSC.
    Joseph Virtual safety car deployed. Virtual safety car deployed.
    Joseph Now there are two more rounds left. We recommend Strat 9 in the background.
    Joseph Lando, when the VSC ends, just remember the car behind you, he has to help as much as possible. Hülkenberg is still standing still in turn 10. There is still double yellow in this area.
    Joseph This is now the last round.
    Joseph End of the virtual safety car. End of the virtual safety car. And good slipstream for Oscar, he’s six on the dot. DRS activated.
    Joseph Oscar 1.0, Verstappen 1.7.

    NB. Does not include routing messages and settings changes

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    Madoc Meredith
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