15/10/2019
NEWS STORY
Having grown used to drivers throwing their toys - and pretty much everything else - out of the pram on a regular basis, it comes as a refreshing surprise to hear one not only play down what could have been a significant incident, but say "fair play" to his rival for pulling off the move in the first place.
On the fourth lap of the race, as he battled with Alex Albon for sixth, Lando Norris ran wide, the Briton's brakes overheating as a result of running over debris from Charles Leclerc's Ferrari.
Pitting at the end of the lap, having lost two further positions in the process of rejoining the track, Norris was unaware that Albon had actually hit him, but on learning the truth was full of praise for his rival.
"Everyone thinks there was a clash, but there was no clash", he told reporters. "In my eyes there was no contact, he made a decent move, must've been from quite a long way back.
"My brakes were overheating completely because of the debris, which meant that I locked up the front right completely. He then sent it from a long way back. Fair play to him anyway."
When it became clear that there had been contact, Norris's refreshing sense of fair play remained intact.
"It was a bit of a risk from him because he would've got past sooner or later, he was much quicker," said the Briton. "But I guess that's racing. He didn't get a penalty, did he? Good."
"When you do those moves you hope the other guy sees you basically," said Albon. "Lando gave me space, the move was on and he left the door open. Then I was like, 'Ooh, he’s turning in here', so we banged wheels, but got away with it."
"I saw him freaking late, to be honest," admitted Norris. "I started to turn in, I think I was on the brakes but they just weren't slowing down properly. But he must of committed before, and I was almost getting to the apex, at which point I saw him.
"I don't know, I'll look at my onboard, but as soon as you see me start to turn left, was pretty much the point I saw him. It quite easily could've turned into something a lot worse."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Suzuka, here.