With barely any space to squeeze through the dozen-rows-deep horde of reporters and photographers, the three Formula One championship protagonists entered their first arena of the weekend. The FIA has been prone to lapses in common sense at times, but, to the delight of all present, F1’s governing body grouped together the top three on Thursday. It made for a background buzz rarely seen in modern-day sporting press conferences.
Lando Norris, leader by 12 points, did his best to defuse the enormity of the occasion. “It’s the same as every weekend, nothing changes,” he began. Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, flanking the Briton on either side, echoed a similar sentiment. This was all their years of media training at the most simplistic level.
