Peter Windsor explains why Lando Norris will be ‘sick as a dog’ after Azerbaijan GP

Follow us on Google Discover

Lando Norris will likely be rueing a missed opportunity after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, having been forced to do a comeback drive through the field from 15th on the grid.

The Briton had been caught up with a brief yellow flag in the closing stages of Q1 which led to him aborting his final lap. Several teams had decided to do their final attempts towards the end of the session because of the high-track evolution, taking the risk to set a lap with the possibility there could be a stoppage.

After Ocon had a brief off-track moment at Turn 16, Lando Norris was forced to back off due to the yellows displayed which meant he was 17th quickest. The McLaren driver eventually started 15th on the grid and recovered to fourth, having passed championship rival Max Verstappen in the closing stages.

Teammate Oscar Piastri took victory having overtaken Charles Leclerc in what Karun Chandhok labelled a ‘tremendously confident’ pass for the win, showing McLaren had the pace to win on Sunday.

After his blunder in qualifying and no podium on Sunday, Peter Windsor believes Norris will be ‘sick as a dog’ seeing his teammate win when speaking on the Cameron Cc podcast.

Lando Norris will not enjoy seeing Oscar Piastri win

Piastri has now become the driver that has scored the most points in the last seven races. But despite this, McLaren is still backing Norris in the title race against Verstappen.

Norris had to help his teammate to prevent an undercut from Sergio Perez midway through the race which enabled Piastri to pit and stay ahead, then challenge Leclerc for the lead.

Given his raw pace compared to Piastri on Sunday, Windsor expects Norris will have the ‘worst feeling’ heading into Singapore.

“Lando, regardless of all the stuff about it being a great team result, he must be feeling as sick as a dog,” said Windsor.

“There is nothing worse than being ahead of your teammate on points, in theory the lead driver, and waking up knowing that guy [Piastri] drove a convincing race and you finished P4. That’s the worst feeling in the world if it’s your teammate. This isn’t going to have a great effect on Lando.”

What Lando Norris must do to win the championship

Norris will need to ensure that he consistently finishes inside the top five and ahead of Verstappen in the final seven races, but with his teammate stealing points it could prove difficult.

Norris must win at least four of the next seven Grands Prix if he wants to stand a chance of overtaking Verstappen, assuming that the Dutchman does not finish as high as second.

READ MORE: Lando Norris takes sly dig at Red Bull following Oscar Piastri’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix win

Piastri is no longer the focus in the championship for McLaren, but the Australian has made it clear that he does not want to simply ‘give up’ a win for his teammate.

With a strong finish in the last two races, Leclerc is now emerging as a threat to Norris’ second place in the Drivers’ Championship while Ferrari could also leapfrog Red Bull in the Constructors’ title.