Carlos Sainz has praised Lando Norris for blocking out the “noise” during his title challenge and believes his former team-mate receives unfair criticism.

The British driver is locked in a championship battle with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri , trailing by nine points heading into this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

Norris has publicly questioned himself at various stages of the season, bemoaning poor qualifying performances and mistakes in races that allowed Piastri to take an early title lead.

Sainz, who was team-mates with Norris at McLaren when the British driver made his Formula One debut in 2019, has been impressed with the way the 25-year-old has handled the scrutiny that has come his way.

“In a championship fight there’s always going to be ups and downs,” Sainz told the

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