Piastri and Norris: “We start from scratch” at the Mexican Grand Prix
Australian driver Oscar Piastri has confirmed that both he and his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, will start the Mexican Grand Prix from a “clean slate.” Piastri took responsibility for the contact between both drivers on the first lap of the United States Grand Prix Sprint race. Norris had faced undisclosed consequences after being held responsible for contact at the Singapore Grand Prix. However, Piastri revealed that these sanctions were lifted after a review of the incident in Austin. The McLaren teammates are in an intense battle for the title this season. Piastri leads Norris by 14 points, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is 40 points behind Piastri in third position, closing in on both. Both drivers retired from the Sprint race in Austin after Piastri attempted to overtake Norris for second place at Turn 1. In that attempt, he collided with Nico Hülkenberg of Sauber on the inside of the turn and then impacted Norris on the outside. The team boss, Andrea Stella, announced that McLaren would review the Austin incident before this weekend’s race in Mexico. Piastri admitted to taking the blame.
When asked if that meant the “consequences” imposed on Norris had been lifted, Piastri replied: “Yes, the consequences for Lando have been removed.” Piastri was on the outside of Norris before the collision in Austin and tried to move back to the inside of his teammate to overtake. That sudden change of direction caused contact with Hülkenberg, which ultimately resulted in Piastri hitting Norris. McLaren is committed to allowing its drivers to compete for the title, understanding that they should not make contact on the track. Piastri confirmed that it was the aggressive nature of his maneuver on Norris that led him to take responsibility. “Ultimately, it was that,” he said. “There were many factors involved, but yes, ultimately, that’s what has been decided.” Norris also confirmed that the conversations had taken place and expressed his enthusiasm to compete on equal terms with Piastri in the remaining races. Yes, they were pretty easy conversations. I guess from now on, just looking ahead to the rest of the season. It’s like it was before, all eyes on the future and just focusing on myself and doing what I do. Of course, it’s better when there’s nothing in the way or nothing that can be a slight disadvantage, like it was before. So yeah, not much more than that. It was a few quick conversations and eyes on the rest of the week.We have reviewed the incident again, something we normally do every weekend, regardless of what has happened. I think there was a degree of responsibility on my part in the Sprint. And we started this weekend with a clean slate for both of us. So, yes. We’ll just go out there and see who can come out victorious.
Oscar Piastri
