SINGAPORE — Max Verstappen dominated the Singapore Grand Prix weekend at Marina Bay with victory in both the main race and the sprint to collect a maximum 33 points and move up to fourth in the drivers' standings, while McLaren's papaya rules faced fresh scrutiny after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri collided on the final lap of the sprint. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished second in the grand prix and championship leader Kimi Antonelli completed the podium.
The sprint incident at Turn Five left, in Norris' words, "no-one very happy" at McLaren. Norris went for a gap on the final lap in what was deemed a legitimate move under the racing guidelines, but tried to back out when he was not left sufficient space and the two cars collided. Both spun, Piastri into the barriers and retirement and Norris down from fifth to eighth, turning what would have been nine points for the team into a single point. Norris initially defended his decision after qualifying, saying: "Really, it's still my fault, but I deserved to go for the space and I still believe I had the right for it."
Team principal Andrea Stella made his anger clear despite his usual calm demeanour, using words such as "unacceptable", "disappointed" and "serious" when asked whether the message about team play was getting through. Stella insisted McLaren would not deviate from their policy of fairness and equal status, noting the issue tests its limits from time to time. The following day Norris changed his tone, offering to help Piastri late in the race during Piastri's attempt to pass Lewis Hamilton's fading Ferrari and taking full responsibility: "I can't attempt what I did," he said. "I should never have attempted it in the first place, even if the move was on. I've simply got to think more of the team that I represent rather than myself. It was a mistake on my part and I let down the team."
Stella said he had classified the clash as "unacceptable" but was encouraged that the drivers rapidly shared that assessment, adding: "So we are aligned as to how we want to lead this team forward in a joint effort between the team and the drivers." He stressed the conversations were not about whether Norris was alongside Piastri, but about embracing the team's interest as superior to any individual interest, and that while discussions were not concluded, he was pleased Norris adopted that thinking during the race, which he said is what the 1,000 people who work at McLaren expect from their drivers.
Ferrari's strategy also came under question after Hamilton struggled on medium tyres in the opening stint, with the softs proving much better and the mediums not lasting long on his car. Team principal Frederic Vasseur was sensitive to the criticism in a tense news conference, repeatedly cutting off questions, against a backdrop of recent speculation about his future that had prompted Ferrari to state after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that chairman John Elkann fully supports him. The explanation, Vasseur suggested, was straightforward, even if the strategy had looked bizarre from the outside.