The Singapore GP did not go as Piastri would have hoped. After starting P3 in his McLaren, with teammate Norris starting P5, a first-lap incident ruined his hopes for a podium result. After taking avoiding action when attacking a gap between Piastri and Verstappen, Norris pushed Piastri rather wide.
Understandably, Piastri was not very happy, although the incident was ruled to need no further investigation. In his post-race interviews, Piastri elaborated on the incident and the actions that will follow.
Incident with Lando
As soon as the incident between the McLaren duo occurred, Piastri was straight on the radio to express his concerns. He acknowledged that the main goal is to avoid contact, adding that he needs to review the footage. Once he reviews the footage again, he will come to his own conclusion on the incident.
“I need to look more at the replays to know exactly what happened. I think the main thing is the two cars coming together is never what we want. I’ll go and have a look at it in more detail and come to my conclusion.”
When reminded of his radio following this incident, in which he labelled it unfair, he shared whether he still holds that view. Piastri stated: “I thought in the moment, obviously it’s the first lap, tensions are high. We’re obviously encouraged to share our views on what happened. I did that and I’m sure we’ll discuss it more after.”. The Australian also promptly reassured that this incident will not change how he races his teammate. He asserted, “No”, when asked.
A reporter went on to ask Piastri whether he would receive a free pit stop at the next round. He quickly responded: “I don’t know”. It was also questioned whether his mindset had shifted following the incident, due to his radio messages. Piastri claimed that most of his radio messages were over the first two laps. He added that once he found his rhythm and pace, he didn’t have the track position to use it.
“No. I think most of my comments were over two laps out of 62. I don’t know if maybe it was delayed more on TV. I felt like once I got into my rhythm a bit later in the first stint, I felt like the pace was pretty good, I just didn’t have the track position to do anything with it.”
Papaya rules
Another incident of ‘Papaya Rules’ took place in Monza recently, which was said to be followed by a conversation with McLaren to investigate what went wrong, and to ensure fairness. Piastri was asked whether a conversation like that is expected to happen again.
“I need to see the incident in more detail, honestly. Once I have the full picture of things, then yes, undoubtedly we will speak about it. I want to see exactly what happened before I make any conclusions.”
Despite this, Piastri is certain Norris is not receiving preferential treatment. He quickly stated, “No”, when asked. Across the past two seasons, McLaren has been seen to try strategies that keep it fair between Piastri and Norris. Despite this, there have also been instances of position swaps and other calls that many deemed unfair. Piastri assured the media that he believes the team has ultimately remained fair.
While there have been instances that weren’t incredibly strong on the fairness standpoint, he acknowledged that the team is constantly learning and adapting. Overall, Piastri remains happy with the team’s intentions, stating he has “no concerns about that”.
“I think ultimately, yes. There have obviously been some difficult situations for the whole team. We’ve obviously spoken about a number of things. Could things have been better at certain points? Yes. But ultimately, it’s a learning process with the whole team. I’m very, very happy that the intentions are very well-meaning, if that makes sense. So I have absolutely no concerns about that. Obviously, there have been some tough situations this year, and this is another one.”
Even as the closing part of the season approaches, Piastri remains confident that tensions will not unravel fairness. When asked, he quickly asserted “No”.
