Norris: I want to be seen as a good guy in title fight with Piastri

The Briton has been locked in a season-long duel with Piastri, yet both have kept their rivalry largely civil. A stark contrast to past F1 title fights between McLaren teammates. Norris was booed on the podium at Monza after his Australian teammate was instructed to hand back position, but the 25-year-old Briton dismissed the episode.

Speaking to reporters in Baku, Norris reflected on the Monza swap: “I mean, it’s never the nicest thing, but not something I really was bothered by. Normally, the Italian fans have always been very good to me.”

Norris was asked whether he was embracing a bad-boy image and whether he cared about being liked by fans. He made clear his preference: “It’s not bad-boy image, it’s not like I did something, it wasn’t even my decision! Certainly, I would say I don’t like to be disliked. I want to come across as a good guy and a nice guy."

"You’re never going to be liked by everyone, so I think I’ve come more to terms with that fact. Yeah, certainly, I always want to give a good impression, that’s something that I care about," explained Norris.

The McLaren driver emphasised that respect and team culture are essential to keeping the battle with Piastri on track. Formula 1 history is full of bitter intra-team rivalries, from Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost at McLaren to Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Norris believes McLaren’s current approach has helped avoid such fractures.

“I think it takes a combination of drivers to understand and be on board with it, and it also takes a team to be well run. For sure there are more selfish drivers out there who would disagree with it, which is completely fine for them," added the McLaren driver.

Norris arrives in Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix trailing Piastri by 31 points in the championship standings. With eight rounds to go, McLaren are on the verge of wrapping up a second consecutive Constructors’ crown, while the spotlight remains firmly on which of their two drivers can claim the Drivers’ title.

The build-up to Baku has been charged by the fallout from Monza, where Piastri was told to yield position. The way the pair continue to handle that tension will be critical to McLaren’s hopes of keeping both titles in-house, because Max Verstappen - hot from victory in Italy - will not rest until the maths state he cannot be Champion this year.

Between Monza and Baku, Norris stepped away from F1 to join Ryder Cup winner Matt Fitzpatrick in the BMW PGA Championship pro-am event at Wentworth. He relished competing in a different sporting environment and admitted to enjoying the banter from spectators.

Norris recalled: “It was good fun. I think I played well for myself considering I don’t know the course that well. I was a bit nervous, I didn’t have a lot of time to warm up, I had like five minutes and I could not hit my driver off the tee.

"I’m like ‘all I want is to hit the driver off the tee because that’s all anyone’s really going to see’! A lot of hecklers, just the whole day always heckling! Actually I found it good fun that people are like giving you a bit of chat every now and then.”

Norris also drew parallels between golf and Formula 1: “When I went to the range and you have all the pros hitting, it’s the same as I’m sure if a sports person comes to F1, it’s admiration for something like that.

"Not many people get to really try the level of an F1 car. In golf I think what’s quite cool is I can have the same clubs as this person, he’s just a lot better, which is why golf’s great.”

With the title fight intensifying, Norris is determined to balance his competitive edge with the image he wants to project. The next chapter comes in qualifying on Saturday in Baku, where McLaren look set to be in the mix once again.