McLaren Drivers' Clash Risks Undermine McLaren's Unity

Lando Norris states that "every competitor on the starting lineup" would have attempted the move that sparked fresh controversy between himself and fellow driver Oscar Piastri during the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Briton collided with his teammate on the corner exit of turn three at the Singapore circuit after contact with Max Verstappen's Red Bull sent his car sideways.

This incident threatens to undermine the well-managed harmony that McLaren has managed to maintain between both competitors through thoughtful management.

Before the race, Norris was behind his teammate by 25 points in the points table, and narrowed that deficit by only three points after taking the final podium spot behind the Mercedes driver and Verstappen, with his teammate following in fourth position.

Driver Perspectives

Norris insisted he had done nothing wrong in overtaking Piastri.

"Anyone on the starting lineup would have done what I did," he commented. "Should you fault me for taking a racing gap, you shouldn't be in F1.

"My car was slightly too close to Verstappen, but that's racing. Nothing serious happened, I'm confident I would have finished in front of Oscar regardless because he had the dirty part of the circuit on the outside.

"Of course I need to analyze it and the worst scenario I want is contact with my teammate. I am the one who must avoid such situations. I would endanger my position just as much if similar things happened.

"I will examine it but the governing body obviously thought it was acceptable and the McLaren did, as well."

Norris denied he had been too forceful with Piastri. "I touched Max," he explained, "meaning I wasn't forceful with my racing partner."

Team Dynamics

Piastri expressed unhappiness about the collision. He communicated over the in-car communication that the squad's choice to do nothing about it was "unjust."

Post-event, he was more measured, saying he needed to review the incident before making additional statements.

"The main concern is both vehicles coming together," he commented. "It's never what we desire, so I'll examine it in greater detail."

Piastri has previously been the competitor to suffer in no fewer than two controversial situations this year.

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was the team's frontrunner early in the race but his teammate was permitted to use a alternative approach to overtake his partner, a choice that rival teams have scrutinized.

During the Italian Grand Prix, Piastri was ordered to allow his teammate through for second place after the British driver was held up by a slow pit stop. Piastri complained that he believed there had been an agreement that a slow pit stop was just normal competition that had to be tolerated, but acquiesced regardless.

Behind the scenes, he was not pleased about that circumstance, and he and the squad held discussions to address the matter.

But when asked after Sunday's race whether he had worries that his teammate might be receiving preferential treatment, the Australian said: "None."

Was he convinced the team had been equitable throughout the championship?

"Ultimately, yes," he stated. "Could things have been better at certain points? Yes, but ultimately it's a learning process with the entire team and I'm extremely satisfied that the intentions are positive, if that makes sense."

Team Leadership

McLaren boss Andrea Stella commented: "We will conduct detailed analyses, constructive discussions and, like after Canada, we'll come back stronger and more cohesive."

Stella explained that although the squad had analyzed the collision in its direct consequence, "the collision is, in reality, a result of another racing situation that happened between Norris and Verstappen."

Stella added: "Piastri made some comments while he was in the car but that's the kind of attitude that we want from our competitors. They have to make their position clear, that's what we require of them.

"The team's review needs to be very detailed, very analytical, it needs to take into account the viewpoint of our both competitors, and then we will form a shared understanding upon which we will determine whether we can just confirm our initial interpretation or there's additional factors that we should decide.

"Every time we start our conversations with the competitors, we always recall, as a premise: 'This is difficult'.

"Since this is the only matter in which, when you race together, actually you cannot maintain identical objectives for the both competitors, because they want to pursue their individual aspirations. This is a core concept of the way we race at McLaren.

"We need to be accurate, because there's much at risk. That's not just the championship points, but it's additionally the confidence of our competitors in the way we operate as a squad, and this is, perhaps, more fundamental than the championship standings."

Championship Achievement

The controversy deflected attention from the British team winning the team title for the second year running.

It is the team's tenth team championship, moving them ahead of their rivals in the all-time list into runner-up position after leaders Ferrari, who have claimed it 16 times since the championship's inception in 1958.

Their victory represents one of the earliest times a team has done this. It matches Red Bull's feat in securing the title with six races to go in 2023, although that was a shorter championship compared with 24 this season.

McLaren's advantage has reduced as the championship heads into its final stages. That is partly because to the characteristics of the latest tracks not favoring its strengths, and partly because McLaren turned off the upgrade process some time ago, while Mercedes and Red Bull still have new parts arriving to their cars.

This choice by McLaren was rooted in the reality that they were seeing reduced benefits in improving this vehicle, typical when a design has such an advantage at the beginning of a championship, and that they wanted to ensure they were well prepared for the following season.

Norris, however, is fully conscious of the scale of his team's achievement, and the remarkable turnaround they have shown under their team principal and CEO their leader from just over two years ago, when they began the previous championship close to the back of the field.

"Another title is a great thing," Norris said. "Looking at where we were three years ago, we have surpassed every team in terms of progress in a period when it is more challenging to achieve with more restrictions and less wind tunnel time.

"In an era when it should be more difficult than before to dominate, that's precisely what the team has done and provided us, by a significant margin, the best car on the grid.

"That's always a pleasing aspect to mention. It always brings satisfaction on your face. But we've additionally performed very well as a team in terms of competitors, between Piastri and myself {pushing each other