Damon Hill has shared his instant reaction on social media after Lando Norris gifted
Oscar Piastri the F1 Sprint win at the Qatar Grand Prix as payback for back in Brazil.
The McLaren pilots left it late to swap positions on the run to the chequered flag. Piastri just got ahead of Norris before the finish line after fending off Mercedes rival George Russell. An incredible margin of 0.136 seconds split the papaya pair with a Silver Arrow just 0.138s back.
Norris was on course to record only his second F1 Sprint victory after dominating the 19-lap event at the Lusail International Circuit. But the Briton took it upon himself to pull aside out of the final corner and let Piastri come through to repay the Australian for the Sprint in Brazil.
Damon Hill thanks Lando Norris’ ‘epic sportsmanship’ to gift Oscar Piastri the F1 Sprint win in Qatar
McLaren employed team orders at Interlagos to make Piastri gift Norris the Sprint win at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The Woking outfit felt obliged to intervene in Brazil with Norris a title contender still then. But Max Verstappen won his fourth title in Las Vegas next time out.
So, after taking one Sprint win away from his teammate to record what was Norris’ first, the 25-year-old wanted to repay his 23-year-old stablemate. It marked back-to-back Sprint wins at the Qatar Grand Prix for Piastri, too, after taking his sole prior Sprint win at Lusail in 2023.
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Norris’ act of sportsmanship to gift Piastri the win received instant praise from Hill after the F1 Sprint at the Qatar GP concluded. The Bristol-born pilot had even played the team game all race long at the Lusail International Circuit to help the Melbourne native hold off Russell.
“That was epic sportsmanship and teamwork. Wow,” Hill shared on X. “Thank you, Lando Norris and McLaren.”
Hill also sought to put a spotlight on the brilliant racing further back in the F1 Sprint at the Qatar GP. He added: “Excellent wheel-to-wheel action with no hanky-panky between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. See? Can be done.”
Lando Norris spent his Sprint helping Oscar Piastri before handing over the win
Norris had the F1 Sprint win in the bag at the Qatar Grand Prix after acing his start from pole position to scuttle clear whilst Piastri jumped Russell through Turn 1. While the Briton burst clear, the Australian used the greater grip on the racing line for Piastri to pull beside Russell.
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The outside line through T1 then let the McLaren man complete his move on the Mercedes star. Yet Piastri was never then able to put enough distance between himself and Russell to change his focus to attacking Norris. Piastri even needed his teammate’s help to stay in P2.
McLaren often asked Norris to work his race in a supportive role to either give Piastri DRS to defend from Russell or clear air to try and build a gap exceeding one second. The small gaps between the trio then made Norris handing Piastri the Sprint win very close to going badly.
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