DOHA :Lando Norris wants to win the Formula One world championship fair and square, without mind games.
The Briton, 24 points clear of Australian Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen, says he also intends to stay on good terms with his McLaren teammate despite there being so much at stake.
“Some people choose to be a dick and therefore things go wrong, and things go wrong for the team,” the 26-year-old told British reporters in Qatar ahead of a weekend that could secure him the title with a race to spare.
“If I want to act like other people have done in the past, it’s quite easy… I don’t want to, that’s not me, I don’t enjoy doing that.
“That’s also not how I want to try and win, or win a championship or win a race. You have to be overly selfish for that and not care about the people you work with but I care about the people I work with.”
He and Piastri have both won seven races this season but the Australian’s form has tailed off dramatically since the end of August when he last won and was 104 points clear of Verstappen and leading the championship.
Norris has meanwhile gone through a dip in form and come back from 34 points down to power ahead at just the right time.
He has been openly self-critical at times, with some accusing him of being too emotionally vulnerable for his own good, but he has also shown considerable inner strength and determination to get on top of his weaknesses.
The McLaren drivers remain free to race, despite Verstappen looming large – with McLaren chief executive Zak Brown likening the Dutch driver to a horror movie villain who keeps coming back every time the danger appears over.
Norris, who can become Britain’s 11th world champion, said he did not want any favours or expect Piastri to play a supporting role.
“I’m racing against Oscar. How on earth can you ask a guy who’s fighting for a world championship to do that? I think it’s pretty stupid,” he said.
Norris said he had also become much better at dealing with adversity, and the haters who booed him at races, and stronger for it.
“I know I’m fighting equally with my teammate even though everyone says it’s not the case,” he said. “I’m very happy that I’m doing an incredibly good job. I feel like I’ve stepped up when it counts, when I’ve needed to.
“Max used to be the biggest guy that got boos. Lewis (Hamilton) several years ago, all he used to do was get booed. Hopefully now it’s my time because that’s normally a good thing.
“I know I’ve just been doing a very good job. I’ve been doing a better job than everyone else and I’m very happy with that.”
