Norris vs Piastri: Tension at McLaren after Singapore crash. F1 analysis

Tension at McLaren: The Incident That Shook the Singapore Grand Prix

The excitement in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship intensifies, and the Singapore Grand Prix was no exception. The focus on Sunday night was not George Russell’s surprising victory nor McLaren’s defense of the constructors’ title, but an incident between teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The contact between Norris and Piastri on the first lap was subjected to a thorough analysis, with implications that could resonate in the six remaining races of 2025. Although the FIA considered the incident a simple racing incident, McLaren’s internal situation was affected.

The Incident: What Happened?

Norris, who started from fifth position, had a good start and sought aggression from the beginning. He overtook Kimi Antonelli and went for the inside of his teammate at Turn 1. Piastri left space, but Norris found himself closing the space as he approached Turn 3 with Max Verstappen. With millimeters of distance, Norris touched the rear of Verstappen’s Red Bull. This contact caused Norris’s car to slide, resulting in a collision with Piastri, who was trying to take a route on the outside of the curve. Norris suffered damage to the front wing, but it was the contact with Piastri that secured his third position. From that moment on, Norris seemed to be faster, finishing on the podium ahead of his teammate, who finished fourth.

“That wasn’t very team-oriented, but oh well,” Piastri said on the radio.

Oscar Piastri

Piastri’s frustration was transmitted over the team radio, generating a tense dialogue with his race engineer, Tom Stallard.

• Lap 3: Piastri: “Are we okay with Lando pushing me off the track, or… what’s going on?”
• Lap 4: Stallard: “I need you to focus on what we can do here. Control the controllable, mate.”
• Stallard: “No action from the stewards. As a team, we see that Lando had to avoid Verstappen, so we will not take any action during the race. We can review later.”
• Piastri: “That’s not fair. Sorry, that’s not fair.”
• Stallard: “Oscar, chance to review together. Focus on this race, mate.”
• Piastri: “Yeah, but if he has to avoid another car by crashing into his teammate, it’s a pretty bad job of avoiding.”

From Piastri’s perspective, Norris’s action seemed aggressive and led to contact between the teammates. However, replays showed that Norris was unable to avoid contact with Piastri after hitting Verstappen.

“I need to see the replays more to know exactly what happened,” Piastri said after the race.

Oscar Piastri

Norris defended his maneuver, arguing that any driver would have acted the same way and that there was nothing wrong with his action. The FIA and the McLaren team agreed that the incident was a racing incident.

Why Didn’t McLaren Intervene?

McLaren has a clear policy of allowing its drivers to compete, but in a clean manner and without collisions. The team considered that the contact between its drivers was a consequence of the crash with Verstappen, so it did not intervene.

“In terms of the contact between our two drivers, this contact is, in reality, a consequence of another racing situation that occurred between Lando and Verstappen,” said Andrea Stella, team principal.

Andrea Stella

Stella understood Piastri’s frustration, but emphasized that the drivers can express themselves openly on the radio. The team will review the incident to learn and improve their approach.

What’s Next for the Title Battle?

With six races remaining, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points. Verstappen, who finished second, has reduced the gap to Piastri to 63 points.

Internal pressure at McLaren will increase as the championship nears its end, testing the team’s rules. Stella is aware of the pressure and the importance of everyone being on the same page every race weekend.

“Every time we start our conversations with the drivers, we always remind ourselves, as a premise, that this is difficult,” Stella said.

Andrea Stella

Despite good intentions, the rules of engagement between the drivers have a limit. In limit situations, each one will interpret the rules in their favor, and McLaren will have a greater challenge to manage this situation.