The McLaren Racing duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri has sparked widespread debate following their first lap battle during the F1 Singapore GP two weeks ago. After a strong start, Norris capitalised on an opportunistic move and lunged down the inside of Piastri into Turn 3, momentarily squeezing the Australian towards the wall.
Although neither car sustained major damage, Piastri made his displeasure clear over the radio during the race. Since then, the team and both drivers have reviewed the incident and held Norris accountable for it. As the championship battle continues to intensify, McLaren’s handling of its two drivers have once again come under scrutiny and discussion—becoming a major talking point ahead of the 2025 F1 US GP.
Piastri “happy” with McLaren’s approach to championship fight
While many have defended Norris’ move on Piastri in Singapore, McLaren’s internal review appears to have taken a different view. Speaking during Thursday’s media session, Piastri shared how the team have handled discussions after the race.
“Yeah, we we had a lot of discussions as as you would expect, yeah, very productive. I think we’re very clear on on how we want to go racing as a team and that includes going forward. The incident we had in Singapore isn’t how we want to go racing.
“So you know, Lando’s taken responsibility for that and so has the team. So yeah, I think it’s it’s quite clear for us as a team that how lap one unfolded wasn’t wasn’t how we want to go racing.”
As six races remain, only 22 points separate the McLaren duo in the Drivers’ Standings. However, both drivers and their team remain wary of reigning World Champion Max Verstappen, who continues to slowly close in on the pair. Although McLaren’s driver management have become a major talking point this year, Piastri expressed confidence in the team’s approach. He credited the clear framework they’ve established to prevent any favouritism or bias between himself and Norris.
“Yeah, I’m very happy with that. You know, I think for me again, we analysed the the incident, and you know there has been responsibility placed on on Lando ultimately in in that collision. But I’m very happy that there’s no favourite favouritism or bias. No, nothing’s going to change. I think it’s you know just clear that we kind of have that framework in place anyways, and You know, that’s how we’re we’re expected to go racing.”
Discussions held post-race allowed Piastri and team to review situation thoroughly
Piastri reflected on the difficulty of making decisions and calls in the heat of the moment, explaining that the team chose to review the incident after the race with data at hand. He acknowledged that while it’s hard to determine what would have been fair during the race, the team ultimately placed responsibility for the incident on Norris.
“I mean in a live situation, it’s very very difficult to analyse that. And you know also assessing whether swapping would have been the right thing to do in that scenario is very tough. So we’ve sat through it and talked through it kind of out of the heat of the moment and discussed what happened, and with a few more points of data and stuff like that.
“So ultimately, I don’t think you can really say what would have been fair to do in the race. But yeah, ultimately the responsibility has been put on Lando after the race.”
Norris deems decision made within team as “fair”
While Norris’ bold move on Piastri earned him a third consecutive podium in Singapore, it has also now brought some consequences for him within the team. When asked about McLaren’s internal review, the Briton admitted he found it “fair” that the team held him accountable for the opening-lap incident.
“Yeah, of course there were talks that was inevitable. The team held me accountable for what happened which I think is fair and yeah, then we made progress from there on and understanding what the repercussions were for myself.
“And yeah to avoid something, let’s say definitely avoid anything worse happening then then what did. Because it’s yeah, like I said back after Singapore, this is the last thing I wanted, something like that to happen to cause this kind of controversial talks after a race.”
Both drivers believe McLaren’s driver management have been key to their success
Norris stressed that he always approaches racing fairly and avoiding unnecessary risks, highlighting it as a strength of his ever since he’d joined Formula 1. Crediting McLaren’s framework they’ve put in place, Norris believes it’s the reason behind why the Woking-based team have been extremely successful this season.
The Briton said: “At the same time, I put just as much risk on me putting myself out of the race as I do whoever I’m racing against whether it’s Oscar or anyone else. So it’s clearly it’s something I want to avoid. They’ve been one of my strengths since coming into Formula 1 is avoiding contact in general and keeping myself in the race and those kind of things.
“But yeah, I think one thing we’ve always done good as a team is using and progressing with the framework that we have to allow both of us as drivers to trust the same each other and the team. That’s a lot of the reason for why we’re a stronger team than everyone else.”
“Repercussions” for Norris to preserve team morale
Both drivers have implied that McLaren have implemented certain “repercussions” for Norris following the incident, though the specifics remain disclosed. Norris acknowledged and accepted the team’s decision. He further explained how measures like these have helped maintain accountability and are part of what has enabled McLaren to fight at the front of the field.
“Yeah, I mean let’s say I think sometimes repercussions are not positive. But at the same time, it’s clear that the the interest for Andrea is preserving the the positive team work that we have. You know the teamwork that’s allowed us to go from being last on the grid a few years ago to being the best performing team.
“And also just having two drivers that are challenged each other more than any of the team on the grid, and when you’re fighting for four wins between those two drivers, then of course, you’re gonna have trickier moments.”
While past high-profile intra-team rivalries have sometimes strained morale and relationships, he praised the Stella and Brown’s efforts in turning the team’s trajectory around.
“But I think the reason we’ve been able to deal with things well on both sides is because of Andrea’s leadership Zak’s leadership and and having these these talks. I don’t know what’s happened to all the teams in the past and what you know, Lewis and Rosberg had and those kind of things.
“But yeah, Andrea’s number one priority is is preserving the morale and the framework that we set out, you know I’ve been part of for for many years. Especially over the last couple years since Andrea stepped into his position of being team principal and how he wants to preserve the greatness of a team that we have at the minute.”
Clear rules between the McLaren duo moving forward
After Singapore, it appears the infamous “papaya rules” remain in effect more than ever between Norris and Piastri. Looking ahead, Norris explained that the most fundamental rule with the team remains simple—don’t crash into each other.
“I think that the the simple answer is there was contact between the two cars and that’s something that we want to we always want to avoid. They said the rule is to not crash with each other. This wasn’t a crash. It was something much much smaller. But we still don’t even want to get it to that point because it causes these kind of things and that’s that’s never a good thing. So we want to avoid anything like we had in Singapore.”
Norris acknowledged that racing isn’t always perfect and was clear that he never intended for an incident like this to occur. Moving forwards, he emphasised that he will continue to seize opportunities if they arise, but the team and drivers want to prevent future contact between both cars.
“But I think in the end, the understanding is that it’s race and it’s difficult to always be perfect. I didn’t want what happened to happen. But I’m never gonna let go of an opportunity like, you know, there was a gap and I went for it and what happened happened. But nothing, let’s say changes from how we go racing.
“It’s just we and the team want to avoid those kind of things have been happening again and simply for the reason was there was contact between two McLaren cars. And yeah, Zak and Andrea doesn’t want that to happen. I think as teammates we don’t want that to happen.”
