Incident between Piastri and Norris overshadows McLaren’s F1 constructors’ title win
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Lando Norris had a clear answer to any critics of his hard-charging pass on teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix.
“Anyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing as what I did,” he said. “So I think if you fault me for just going up the inside and putting my car on the inside of a big gap then, yeah, I think you shouldn’t be in Formula 1.”
McLaren secured the constructors’ title, its reward for one of the most dominant seasons by a team in Formula 1. How to handle the other title fight between Piastri and Norris is a question which won’t go away.
McLaren had to deal with Piastri asking over the radio whether the team was “cool with Lando just barging me out of the way” after they banged wheels on the opening lap as Norris passed his teammate.
Chief executive Zak Brown said McLaren was just “letting them race” but the team’s hands-on role in managing its drivers’ title fight this year means its decision not to intervene Sunday faced scrutiny.
Norris defends ‘good racing’
It was almost the ideal start from fifth for Norris, who sped past Kimi Antonelli and went wheel-to-wheel to pass Piastri in the first three corners.
“It was slippery, still wet in a lot of places” after pre-race rain, Norris said. “But it’s racing and I put it on the inside. I had a small correction but nothing more than that. It was good racing.” Norris later said the contact with Piastri only happened after he’d also touched Max Verstappen, who was ahead on the other side.
McLaren has intervened in on-track action before under its “papaya rules”, asking Piastri to give back a place when Norris had a slow pit stop in Italy last month. The team didn’t get involved Sunday and Piastri made his feelings clear.
“That’s not fair,” Piastri said over the radio after being told McLaren thought Norris had been trying to avoid Verstappen when he hit Piastri. The Australian questioned Norris’ driving “if he has to avoid another car by crashing into his teammate.”
A slide in performance
Securing the constructors’ title with six races remaining underlined McLaren’s status as F1’s top team but both its drivers lost ground to Verstappen in the standings. McLaren is without a win in three races now.
The constructors’ title has been a foregone conclusion for months. McLaren’s 650 points are double the 325 of second-place Mercedes, but it’s no longer the overwhelming favorite each week.
Verstappen beat Norris and Piastri at the high-speed tracks in Italy and Azerbaijan, though qualifying ahead of both McLarens was a surprise in Singapore. Norris outpaced Verstappen in the race but couldn’t make it count on a track where overtaking is difficult.
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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing