LANDO NORRIS fought with his own McLaren team before eventually handing Oscar Piastri his first-ever Grand Prix win.
The British 24-year-old defied his team orders until two laps to go to allow Piastri past him with fresher tyres despite being almost six-seconds clear in front.
He was told on the team radio: “Lando, he can’t catch you up. You’ve proved your point, and it really doesn’t matter,
“The way to win a championship is not by yourself. You’re going to need Oscar, and you’re going to need the team.”
There has now been seven different Grand Prix winners in 2024 and the last time there was this many winners in F1 was 2012
Lewis Hamilton overcame a collision with Max Verstappen on lap 63 to bag a 200th podium finish after bagging third.
READ MORE ON F1
Verstappen, who finished in fifth behind Charles Leclerc, was livid throughout the race, battling with his old foe Hamilton wheel to wheel before clipping the Mercedes man’s tyre.
The collision flipped the back of the Red Bull car up in the air before he careered off the track and now faces a post-race investigation.
Norris was made to pay for suffering another poor start as his teammate Piastri nipped past him, to take the lead.
Verstappen ran wide and re-joined the track in second, prompting an investigation and more handbags with his pal Norris.
Most read in Motorsport
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
The duo fired digs at each other over their team radio with Norris saying Verstappen had gained an advantage, while the Dutchman claimed he was forced off by the McLaren.
The stewards investigated and Verstappen was advised by his team to let Norris through at the start of lap four.
Livid Verstappen fumed on his team radio and said: “OK, so you can just drive people off the track then?
“You can tell the FIA that’s how we’re going to race from now onwards. Just driving people off the road.”
Hamilton did well to climb into fourth from fifth in the opening corners and briefly challenged Norris for third.
Fans were licking their lips at a tussle between old foes Hamilton and Verstappen who went wheel to wheel with 25 laps to go.
The Mercedes man’s tyres were wearing down and Verstappen attempted an overtake and passed him by Turn Two only to run wide and allow Hamilton back into third-place.
Verstappen let rip on the radio and Hamilton lived to fight another day as the old maestro somehow held off the Dutchman again before finally pitting on lap 41.
Verstappen fumed again: “It’s quite impressive how we let ourselves get undercut and just completely **** my race.”
He was even seen HITTING his steering wheel.
Norris ignored calls from his McLaren team about pushing his tyres too hard and extended his lead over Piastri by more than four seconds on lap 58.
It looked as though he had no intention of letting Piastri through despite persistent demands from his team.
Verstappen and Hamilton were back at it again and on lap 63 the pair collided after the Dutchman went inside and locked up.
Verstappen rejoined the track in fifth behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and grumbled in the team radio.
But Red Bull hit back at their driver saying: “I’m not going to get in a radio fight. It’s childish on the team radio.”
Norris continued defying orders from his team, soaring ahead of his teammate.
McLaren said on the team radio “You proved your point Lando. The way to win the Championship is with your team and with Oscar, not by yourself.
“It’s going to make this very awkward, please do it now.”
There must have been a sigh of relief from the McLaren pit wall when Norris finally let Piastri past on the main straight.
After the race was through, Norris showed his class as he congratulated Piastri on his first F1 win.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He did address the moment to the press as he gave a brief answer when quizzed.
He said: “The team asked me to do it, and I did it, so yeah, that is it.”
F1 2025 grid
Here are the confirmed driver line ups for the F1 2025 season so far:
Red Bull: Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes: George Russell and TBC
McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll
Williams: Alex Albon and TBC
Sauber: Nico Hulkenberg and TBC
Alpine: Pierre Gasly and TBC
RB: Yuki Tsunoda and TBC
Haas: Ollie Bearman and TBC
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk