Lando Norris has brushed off suggestions that McLaren would prioritise his teammate Oscar Piastri in the world championship fight after a resurgent Max Verstappen emerged as a genuine title contender. The British driver said the Dutchman was now in a position to defend his crown as the teams prepare for the Singapore Grand Prix, where extreme heat and humidity pose a serious challenge.
Norris trails Piastri by 25 points in the drivers’ championship, but Verstappen has won the past two grands prix and closed to 69 points behind the Australian. “He is genuinely a challenger,” Norris said. “If you go back to the beginning of the season they were challenging us for the first six or seven races for wins, then we brought some upgrades and improved a little bit. Then they brought a couple of upgrades and that has put them on the same level.”
McLaren have allowed their drivers to race so far, and team principal Andrea Stella has maintained that would remain the case unless they had to favour one driver to guarantee the drivers’ title – their first since Lewis Hamilton’s in 2008. Norris dismissed concerns about team orders with disdain. “I’m very concerned, yeah,” he said sarcastically. “Very worried about it and scared, frankly. I was happy you asked that … Actually, No.”
With ambient temperatures forecast to reach 31°C and humidity above 70%, the Marina Bay circuit has been declared a “heat hazard” by race director Rui Marques under new rules instigated this year. All teams must fit systems allowing drivers to wear cooling vests in the cockpit, although the vests are not mandatory, with some drivers finding them uncomfortable. Those who opt out will carry an extra 0.5kg of ballast to ensure weight parity.
George Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, welcomed the measure. “The [vest] concept is good and when you’re racing in 90% humidity and the cockpits are getting on for 60°C, it’s a bit of a sauna inside the car, so I think we all welcome it,” he said.
