Clever Lando Norris idea shut down in untelevised McLaren team radio

Untelevised team radio footage from the British Grand Prix has revealed the moment McLaren shut down Lando Norris’s clever idea to cut through the pit lane on the final lap. 

Norris, who won his home race en route to a maiden world championship in 2025, finished fourth at Silverstone last Sunday.

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The race finished behind the safety car after Red Bull driver Max Verstappen spun into the gravel at Stowe corner.

The move to end proceedings behind the safety car proved divisive, with the decision preventing a one-lap sprint to the finish.

Locked in fourth place behind the safety car, Norris was heard asking the McLaren pit wall if he could pit at the end of the final lap and win the race in the pit lane.

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Unusually, the pit entry at Silverstone – located on the approach to Vale – offers a faster route to the timing line than the circuit itself.

The full exchange between Norris and his race engineer, Will Joseph, went as follows:

Norris: “You’re not allowed to box, are you? You can’t win it in the pit lane?”

Joseph: “No, you’re not.”

Norris: “Shame.”

Norris’s idea had echoes of the 1998 British Grand Prix, which saw Michael Schumacher cross the finish line to win in the pit lane amid a dispute over a 10-second time penalty.

Schumacher’s 1999 victory took place on the old Silverstone layout, which saw the pit lane located on the straight leading to Copse corner.

Using the pit lane to gain position on the final lap at Silverstone is also a popular trick on the long-running F1 video game series, with Norris known as a passionate sim racer.

McLaren was also heard instructing Norris to stick to the rules after taking the chequered flag.

With the race finishing behind the safety car, under which no overtaking is permitted, McLaren appeared unsure whether the standard safety car procedure would also apply on the cooldown lap.

The team opted to remain on the safe side, urging Norris to remain in finishing order to eliminate the risk of a post-race penalty.

The instruction denied Norris the opportunity to wow the crowd in the Lando Stand, the grandstand for Norris supporters located at Stowe, with the world champion pointing out that others – including Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton – were overtaking other cars on the in lap.

Joseph: “So, Lando, it’s a bit cr*p for the Lando Stand, but there’s no overtaking on this in lap. And if other people do, it doesn’t matter. You don’t.”

Norris: “Yeah, Lewis did already.”

Joseph: “And pickup, please.”

Norris: “Lewis has overtaken everyone. I mean, everyone’s overtaking.”

Joseph: “You just do the right thing.”

Norris: “Yeah, I’m just trying to stay out of everyone’s way.”

Joseph: “You just do the right thing.”

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