McLaren pair downplay Monza fallout in Baku

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have sought to put the Monza team orders saga behind them as the F1 circus arrives in Baku.

Norris, who was booed on the podium in Italy, dismissed the backlash. "In the world that we live in nowadays, all people want to do, you know, is be negative and talk badly about others," he said. He insisted the team was staying united.

"It also doesn't affect us as a team. We continue to do things our way, whether people agree with it or not." Critics accused McLaren of tilting in Norris’ favour after his slow pitstop preceded an instruction for Piastri to concede P2.

But Norris denied it was that simple. "It was more the other factors," he explained. "We both agreed afterward and accepted it. That's what we agreed on as a team." He also pointed the finger at the media. "You need headlines. You need people to read things. So, for me, it doesn't surprise me at all." Championship leader Piastri admitted the fuss had been impossible to ignore.

"Obviously I noticed there was a lot of commotion, emotion, and controversy, that there were angry fans, and that everyone had an opinion," he said. "But I think this was a situation where we couldn't have done it right. The other way around, it would have been wrong too." Asked if it could repeat, he replied: "In exactly the same scenario, then yes, I would expect it to be the same.

But I think the likelihood that you're going to have the exact same scenario is virtually impossible. Every scenario is going to look different." Piastri confirmed "a lot of discussions" had taken place behind the scenes. "We've clarified a lot of things, and we know how we're going to go racing going forward," he said.

He also denied that his manager Mark Webber – who had his own team order controversies in his F1 career – was furious. "Mark is very much on the same page. And again, I've discussed with the team and with Mark about what happened, and we're all aligned going forward."

Meanwhile, Norris admitted he may even benefit if Max Verstappen splits the McLarens in upcoming races. "If no one is competing with us and we finish first and second every week, it will make my job even more difficult," he told RTBF. "Does that mean I would prefer to see Max between me and Oscar? Sometimes that could help."