Former Williams Formula 1 sponsorship manager Peter Windsor has praised Lando Norris for being a “too nice” after his immediate apology to McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in their on-track clash at the Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday, Afrosport reports.
Norris was battling Piastri for fourth place which saw thin run into the back of his teammate after trying an aggressive move saw him damage his car, bring out the safety car and ultimately retire from the race.
The British driver immediately apologised over team radio and went over to Piastri after the conclusion of the race.
Windsor reacting to Norris’ action said: “I thought it was actually incredibly good how Lando reacted. He’s immediately on the radio, taking all the blame himself. I can’t think of many racing drivers in that situation who would have done that. If that was Nigel Mansell or Michael Schumacher or Niki Lauda, especially Niki Lauda I think,they would have all found some way of blaming the other guy or the team or something.
“That’s what racing drivers do. Lando was there taking all the blame for himself and took no time walking back to the pits. He got back to the McLaren garage and the first thing he did was go up to Oscar and shake Oscar’s hand and say ‘no problem, it’s not your fault at all’.
“I suppose a lot of people will say Lando is too nice and maybe he is. I am not sure that this is a bad thing we’re seeing from Lando Norris there. That’s probably a very good thing, a very human thing and it shows he’s a very good, honest person.”
Windsor however raised questions on whether Norris being too nice is a sign he is not ruthless enough in his fight for the championship.
“But at the same time he has to find a way to take the championship to Oscar Piastri,” Windsor added.
“He can’t continue to be the nice guy. Again, if that was Max racing with Daniel in the Ricciardo days or Mansell and Piquet for example or Senna and Prost with both cars very quick. There’s no way they would have spent three or four laps trying to get past Oscar. It would have been a forceful move the minute he got somewhere near him under the rear wing but because Lando is such a good team player and he loves McLaren and Zak, he took too long.
“He was too long behind Oscar and by the time he was there it was easy for Oscar to keep the car on the road. That was a seminal moment I think for everyone.
“For McLaren, for Lando Norris and for Oscar Piastri certainly, who didn’t win the race but has a massive advantage in terms of the points he got. He has to work very hard to get the sort of advantage he got today over Lando in one race and that’s a big step for him in terms of the world championship.”
Into the wall and out of the race!
Lando Norris apologised for this collision with his teammate Oscar Piastri #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/4FiNVm1hiI
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 15, 2025
Norris’ DNF in Canada means he is 22 points behind Piastri in the drivers championship and 21 points ahead of Verstappen.