McLaren team boss Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown dedicated their newly acquired constructor’s title on Sunday to teamwork. Even as Norris and Oscar Piastri were battling for their own titles in recent months, the British racing team continued to emphasize collaboration and fair opportunities for both drivers. However, Oscar Piastri seemed to feel unfairly treated during the Singapore Grand Prix. According to Martin Brundle, this race will set a new standard for McLaren.
At the start of the Singapore Grand Prix, Lando Norris immediately launched an attack from P5 on Kimi Antonelli and teammate Oscar Piastri. Both were overtaken, although there was contact between the Brit and the Australian. “That wasn’t very sportsmanlike of him,” Piastri complained over the radio. Not much later, he voiced his grievances again. “Do we think it’s normal for Norris to just shove me aside?” he asked, frustrated.
‘It’s Simply Part of Racing’
After the event, team boss Andrea Stella assured that the incident would be discussed behind the scenes and that the team would emerge stronger from it. However, analyst and former driver Martin Brundle believes that the peace within McLaren has been permanently disturbed. “I think the rules of the game between the two McLaren drivers have changed for the rest of the season,” Brundle said during a Sky Sports broadcast. At the same time, he seemed to side with Norris. “I found the overtaking move spicy, opportunistic, and aggressive, but that’s also part of racing. These are simply the new rules,” he warned Piastri. “I don’t understand how McLaren could have justified a driver swap here. At the same time, Oscar will now think: ‘Okay, so be it. This is how we’re going to race.’
Colleague and former world champion Jenson Button also felt that Norris had done nothing wrong. “It’s racing,” he too responded. “They’re driving side by side. Norris tapped the back of Max Verstappen and had a bit of oversteer. It just shows how little grip he had. It’s not as if he wanted to deliberately push Piastri into the wall. If I were Oscar, I would think: ‘Ah, my teammate has outsmarted me there.’ And you leave it at that.”
