Lando Norris and George Russell had an awkward encounter in the media pen at the Qatar Grand Prix after the McLaren driver made a mistake in qualifying
Lando Norris and George Russell had an awkward encounter in the media pen after qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix.
Norris missed out on claiming pole for Sunday’s race after he made a mistake on his final lap in Q3, allowing team-mate and championship rival Oscar Piastri the chance to land top spot.
The Brit, 26, leads the drivers’ standings and could claim his first World Championship title on Sunday if he is ahead of Piastri and Max Verstappen by 26 or more points at the end of the Qatar race. But his task has been made a bit more difficult following his qualifying mistake, which Russell wasn’t afraid to confront him about.
During the Mercedes driver’s interview with DAZN Espana, he accused Norris of blaming his failed final fast lap on him, turning to Norris mid-interview to say: “Mate, you told the media the reason you messed up Turn 1 was because of me?”
Norris replied confused: “Who said that?” Seeing Russell look around the media pen and say: “Someone said you’re blaming me?”
But Norris was left raging by the comment and he hit back: “We’re with media mate. All they do is spread b*******. Can’t believe you believe them over me. It’s pretty disappointing.”
Russell then teased Norris back, saying: “It sounded like something you would say though.”
It’s unclear whether Russell was teasing Norris into a reaction or whether his confrontation with the Papaya star was serious. Regardless, it certainly added some spice ahead of a pivotal race in the destiny of the title.
Norris will start P2, alongside Piastri on the front row, who won the Sprint race on Saturday, with his other championship rival Max Verstappen starting in P3 after qualifying almost three tenths of a second behind Piastri’s superior McLaren.
Verstappen benefitted from five-second time penalties given to Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli to finish fourth in the Sprint.
Russell starts in P4 ahead of team-mate Antonelli in a welcome result for their constructors’ hopes.
Mercedes are currently second in the standings, 41 points ahead of Red Bull and 63 clear of Ferrari. However, McLaren’s dominance saw them seal the Constructors’ Championship back in Singapore almost two months ago.