Lando Norris says that there will be repercussions for his first-lap contact with Formula 1 championship leader Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix, as he accepted accountability for the incident between the two McLaren drivers.
Norris made a swift start to the Singapore race and drew level with Piastri through the opening corners. After encountering Max Verstappen at the apex of Turn 3, Norris tried to avoid light contact with the Red Bull and then ended up making brief contact with Piastri – who was notably dismayed by the move over team radio.
Although McLaren’s leadership duo Andrea Stella and Zak Brown did not appear to worry about the incident at the time, as it coincided with the team’s defence of its constructors’ crown, Stella noted that the team would review it before the United States Grand Prix.
The team has since held Norris accountable for the incident. The Briton, who is now 22 points behind Piastri in the title race, appears to have accepted responsibility – noting that the team reached a “fair” conclusion.
“There were talks; that was inevitable,” Norris explained. “The team held me accountable for what happened, which I think is fair, and then we made progress from there on understanding what the repercussions were for myself and to avoid something worse happening than it did.
“The last thing I want is something like that to happen to cause these kind of controversial talks after a race. And 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 something I want to avoid. It’s so been one of my strengths since coming into Formula 1, avoiding contact in general and keeping myself in the race.
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
“I think one thing we’ve always done well as a team is using and progressing with the framework that we have to allow both of us as drivers to trust each other and the team. That’s a lot of the reason for why we’re a stronger team than everyone else.”
Norris did not reveal what the “repercussions” of causing the clash would be, but accepted that retaining harmony within the team was worth any penance that he would have to pay.
He agreed that it was tricky for Stella to keep things balanced between the two drivers, but added that maintaining open talks within the team could ensure fairness within the team.
“Sometimes the repercussions are not positive, but at the same time it’s clear that the interest for Andrea is preserving the positive teamwork that we have, 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 challenge each other more than any other team on the grid.
“When you’re fighting for wins between those two drivers, then of course you’re going to have trickier moments. 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 having these talks.
“I don’t know what’s happened to all the teams in the past and what Lewis [Hamilton] and [Nico] Rosberg had, but Andrea’s number one priority is preserving the morale and the framework that we set out.
“I’ve been part of it for many years, but especially over the last couple of years since Andrea stepped into his position of being team principal, and how he wants to preserve the greatness of the team that we have at the minute.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
