Lando Norris ‘lie’ has already summed up his feelings towards Lewis Hamilton

Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton shared an awkward exchange in the cooldown room following Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix which has earned McLaren’s driver backlash from fans

Lewis Hamilton’s praise of McLaren was taken the wrong way by Lando Norris (Image: Getty Images)

Lando Norris clearly holds Lewis Hamilton in high regard, irrespective of their awkward Hungarian Grand Prix exchange.

The McLaren driver has faced criticism for the comments he made to seven-time world champion Hamilton in the cooldown room after Sunday’s race. TV cameras picked up their oddly tense conversation.

Norris appeared to misinterpret Hamilton’s remark on their performance when he told him (via the Express): “Whoo, you guys are fast! “The younger British driver replied: “Yeah, well, you had a fast car seven years ago.”

Somewhat taken aback, Hamilton joked: “Seven years ago? That’s a long time. Were you here seven years ago?” Norris continued to not see the funny side as he added: “You know, you had a quick car. You made the most of it, now it’s us.”

Trying to clarify the point he was making, Hamilton concluded: “I wasn’t complaining, I was just complimenting you on your car.” Emotions were running high at the time for Norris, who’d lost his lead from pole position and was later forced to surrender first place again to team-mate Oscar Piastri after McLaren gave him pit priority and he’d emerged in the lead.

He failed to follow the team orders for several laps before finally relinquishing with three to go. His frustration was clear to see after the chequered flag and almost certainly impacted how he spoke to Hamilton.

His respect for the veteran Mercedes star has been evident in the past, including when he participated in a lie detector test ahead of the Miami Grand Prix in May. Sky Sports’ Simon Lazenby put Norris on the spot with a question about whether he considered himself the best British driver on the grid, ahead of Hamilton and George Russell.

Norris had a difficult weekend in Hungary ( Image: Getty Images)

Norris replied “yes”, but the lie detector said he wasn’t telling the truth. When Lazenby pushed further, asking “who is the best then?” Norris conceded: “Lewis.” Both he and Hamilton have previously exchanged public compliments.

However, Norris did issue an apology to him back in 2020 after saying: “He’s in a car which should win every race, basically. He has to beat one or two other drivers, that’s it. Fair play to him, he’s still doing the job he has to do.”

He later took to social media and wrote: “I owe an apology. I’ve been stupid and careless with some things I’ve said lately in media and interviews, and haven’t shown the respect I should have to certain people. I’m not that kind of person, so know I should apologise to them but also everyone reading/listening. Sorry.”