Norris, Piastri, and Verstappen stay ‘hidden’: none of the three will attend the press conference in Qatar
The big three stay quiet in the press
The Qatar Grand Prix, set to take place on Sunday – with the exciting Sprint preview on Saturday – promises to be, at least in terms of championship dynamics, the most important race of the year so far. It has been 15 years since the penultimate round of the season featured three drivers still mathematically in contention for the Drivers’ Championship.
Yet, in a rather surprising decision, neither Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, nor Lando Norris – who will have the first career match point this weekend to become world champion – will attend the traditional pre-race FIA press conference this afternoon. Not even the two team principals of the squads involved in the title fight – McLaren and Red Bull – will speak during Friday’s official media session organized by the federation.
It remains unclear whether this decision was requested by the drivers themselves – perhaps wanting a few moments of freedom during such a critical point in the season – or if it is simply a communication ‘strategy’ devised by the FIA and Formula 1.
Media interactions will still happen
It should be noted that the three title contenders will still interact with the media present at Lusail through the traditional team-organized media sessions. The FIA press conference, however, will be reserved for rookies in the first session, featuring Oliver Bearman, Kimi Antonelli, and Liam Lawson. In the second session, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hülkenberg, and Carlos Sainz will speak. Among the team principals, Fred Vasseur, Steve Nielsen, and Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola will take the floor.
With the championship potentially on the line under the Lusail floodlights, the decision to keep the title fighters away from the main stage has only added another layer of intrigue to what is already set to be an unmissable weekend.
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