McLaren has admitted there is a “lot at stake” as the British team opens its review into the latest crash between world championship rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Norris and Piastri collided for the second time this season on the first lap of Sunday’s contest in Singapore. Norris finished third, one place clear of Piastri, to take three points out of his title lead. The British driver now trails Piastri by 22 points with 174 points to play for across the final six rounds.
Piastri was annoyed that McLaren did not instruct Norris to give up the place for breaking the so-called ‘Papaya Rules’. McLaren said Norris could not avoid hitting Piastri after he tagged the back of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
However, Piastri felt Norris did a “s*** job” in avoiding him, while Norris claimed a driver who would not attempt a similar move “should not be in Formula One”.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said: “We made our assessment and we decided that the right course of action is the one we took, but part of the process is our review that will happen in the coming days.
“The review needs to be very detailed, very analytical, and it needs to take into account the point of view of our two drivers.
“We will form a common opinion and we will see whether it confirms our initial interpretation, or if there is something else that we should compute.
“But in terms of just ‘going for the gap’, it is, let’s say, too much of a coarse approach. We need to retain a higher degree of sophistication and detail because there are so many elements that you need to take into account and we need to make sure we don’t become too quick in drawing conclusions.
“We need to be accurate because there is a lot at stake, not only the championship points but the trust of our drivers and the way we operate as a team.”
Norris ran into the back of Piastri in Canada in June and immediately took blame for the crash. The incident in Singapore comes less than a month after Piastri was ordered aside for Norris at the Italian Grand Prix following a slow pit-stop for the Briton – a controversial decision which also angered Piastri.
Stella continued: “This is a reminder that when you are racing as a team, you cannot have exactly the same interests for the two drivers because they want to pursue their aspirations.
“We want to protect this ‘let them race’ concept, and we know as soon as you adopt this concept you face difficulties.
“But I am very proud of the way Lando and Oscar have been part of the process so far because if we have been able to navigate through these ‘difficult’ battles of racing, it is because we have Lando and Oscar on board, and they have been great contributors and great individuals and that is why it has been very successful so far.
“We will have a good review, good conversations, and just like after Canada, we will come back stronger and more united.”
