Lando Norris responds to Monza boos: “Want to come across as a good guy”

McLaren’s Lando Norris claimed that he wants “to come across as a good guy” after facing a crowd of boos at the Italian Grand Prix. 

Norris finished the race at Monza in second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. During the latter stages of the race, Norris was running in second and his team-mate and championship rival Oscar Piastri was behind in third. McLaren decided to pit Piastri first on the proviso that he would not undercut the Briton. But when the Briton pitted a lap later, a slow stop meant the plan went up in the air as he returned to the track behind Piastri.

As a result, McLaren ordered Piastri to let Norris back through, stating that once the positions had been reinstated, the drivers would be free to race.

“I mean, it’s never the nicest thing, but not something I really was bothered by,” Norris told the PA news agency when asked about the boos from the passionate Monza crowd. “Normally, the Italian fans have always been very good to me.”

When jokingly asked whether having a bad-boy image was important to him, he laughed and added: “It’s not bad-boy image, it’s not like I did something, it wasn’t even my decision!

“Certainly I would say I don’t like to be disliked. I want to come across as a good guy and a nice guy.

“You’re never going to be liked by everyone, so I think I’ve come more to terms with that fact … I always want to give a good impression, that’s something that I care about.”

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images

McLaren defended the decision at the time, as did both Norris and Piastri. When asked during the post-race press conference if he had any doubt that Piastri would let him back through, Norris said: “No, because it’s what we decided as a team, and it’s what we all agreed upon.”

Piastri added: “It’s something that we’ll discuss. We have discussed it before, but I think today it was a fair request. Lando qualified ahead, was ahead the whole race and lost that spot through no fault of his own. I said what I had to say on the radio, and once I got the second request, then I’m not going to go against the team. I think there’s a lot of people to protect and a culture to protect outside of just Lando and I, and ultimately, that’s a very important thing going forward.”

Photos from Azerbajian GP – Practice & Qualifying