McLaren driver Lando Norris has sparked a war of words with new teammate Oscar Piastri, claiming that he made things easy for the rookie during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The opening weekend had not seen any sort of battle between the two as Piastri was sidelined after just 13 laps and Norris managed to complete the race, but only after taking a number of pitstops.
Things took a turn in Jeddah as Norris failed to make it out of Q1, while Piastri finished in eighth spot.
In the race, though, things got far more complicated after the Australian’s clash with Pierre Gasly, which required a stop to change his front wing. It also forced Norris to take a break owing to the debris from the collision.
As a result, both drivers were at the back of the queue and engaged in an interesting tussle.
Piastri got the better of Norris initially, before the British driver regained control.
As the race was coming to an end, the McLaren drivers seemed intent on hunting down 15th spot, which was occupied by Logan Sargeant.
Norris was instructed by his team not to make life difficult for Piastri in his pursuit of Sargeant.
He was eventually able to make it past the American rookie, but fans were left with plenty to discuss.
For Lando, though, it wasn’t a case of Piastri getting the better of him.
“It was good, my first time racing Oscar,” said the Briton.
“It was good fun. The team told me not to make it too hard for him, so in the end I let him go.
“I probably could have got the Williams. I think I would have got the Williams myself.
“But I let him go, I made his life easier. I let him have a chance of getting past the Williams, which he did.
“It would be different if I was fighting for points, but 16th and 17th.”
McLaren may be rooted to last spot in the standings at this moment, but Norris believes things will soon turn for the Papaya-Orange.
“I don’t think it’s too different to last year, in a way it’s a little bit better than last year. It’s just the field is tighter,” he said.
“We just had more issues, more reliability problems in race one, and obviously my mistake, and from Oscar’s side, the incident with Gasly cost us.
“It’s not as bad as what it looks I would say. We’re not quick, that’s the honest answer. It’s just that when it’s closer than ever, it’s more punishing when things don’t go your way.”