Norris Defies Team Orders, Verstappen Loses Qatar Pole to Russell

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — In a surprising move, McLaren driver Lando Norris defied team orders and handed his teammate Oscar Piastri the win in Saturday's sprint race at the Formula One Qatar Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Mercedes driver George Russell inherited the pole position after Red Bull's Max Verstappen was stripped of the advantage due to a penalty for driving "unnecessarily slowly" during qualifying.

Norris was told by McLaren to finish ahead of Piastri in the radio communications, but he chose to disobey orders and ease off to allow his teammate to take the win. The Australian driver took full advantage of this decision, managing to hold off Russell for second place.

"The team told me not to do it, but I thought I could get away with it and we did," Norris said after the race. "Honestly, I don't mind. I'm not here to win sprint races; I'm here to win races and the championship."

Piastri expressed his gratitude for Norris's actions. "I was aware it could happen," he said. "It just shows off our teamwork and the lack of egos within the team."

This move continues to highlight McLaren's unconventional approach to racing tactics, which has been a talking point throughout the season.

In other news, Verstappen had started the sprint with pole position but was penalized for his actions during qualifying, when he drove at an unacceptable speed on the track. The stewards ultimately decided not to impose the usual three-place penalty due to the fact that neither driver was trying to set a fast time.

"We did change a bit on the car but I never thought it would make such a swing in performance," Verstappen said after the news of his penalty was announced.

The F1 championship is heating up, with McLaren now just 30 points ahead of Ferrari. Red Bull's performance this weekend has put them at risk of losing the lead to their rivals.

[Source: AP News]