Lando Norris delivers 'unsurprised' verdict after McLaren team orders backlash

Lando Norris has conceded to being unsurprised by the negativity that has flowed McLaren's way following the controversial team orders decision taken during the last race at Monza.

The outcome taken by the McLaren pitwall to reverse the positions of Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri late in the Italian Grand Prix, after the British driver was handicapped by a slow pit stop, garnered considerable attention and headlines.

Piastri, who had inherited second due to the incident for Norris, initially questioned the decision, stating over the team radio that there was an understanding inside McLaren that slow pit stops were part of racing, before agreeing to the swap.

The outcome saw Norris and Piastri finish third behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, but in the aftermath, there was considerable criticism from fans and pundits alike, suggesting that McLaren was over-orchestrating situations and its drivers were unable to race freely.

Asked if he was surprised by the outpouring of negativity, speaking to media, including RacingNews365, ahead of this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Norris said: "Not in the world that we live in nowadays, because that's all people want to do, is be negative and talk badly about others.

"You [the media] also need headlines, people to read things, so not a surprise at all from my side, but it also doesn't affect us as a team.

"It's what you expect nowadays, and I think in the world in which we live, it's more negativity than positivity.

"Like we've said, we will continue to do things our way, whether people agree with it or not, it's not our problem, and we don't really care about that.

"We're happy, we focus on ourselves. Of course, you always want good things to come out of it. The team are trying to do a good thing.

"Whether people agree, at the end of the day, is not our problem. We want it to be fair, to be equal for both of us, and then people can comment whatever they like after that."

Norris defends McLaren's interference

Norris, who goes into the race in Baku with a 31-point deficit to Piastri, has confirmed that talks behind the scenes after Monza underlined the decision taken.

"Some things had to be clarified," said Norris. "There were some things at that point that I didn't know about, like the undercut from [Charles] Leclerc, and things I didn't know about in my post-race interviews at the time that also played a part in the reasoning of the decision that the team made.

"It was not just the pit stop which made that decision, it was more so the other things. So, clarification, but nothing other than the fact that we both agreed with it after and accepted. That's what we agree as a team."

Norris has additionally played down suggestions that it is difficult for McLaren to play fair with its drivers, given their fight for the title.

"Honestly, there's a lot less than you think," remarked Norris, who referenced the situation in last year's Hungarian GP when he was ordered to cede position to Piastri. "This [Monza] was one of the first things in quite a long time.

"Like I just said, it wasn't the fact that I had a slow pit stop. It was more the fact of the changing of positions, the sequencing of things, which was the same as Hungary last year.

"There haven't been many things apart from that. Of course, they try and keep things fair between us, but there haven't been many things where they've had to actually get involved and do anything to help one or the other."