SINGAPORE — McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has ordered Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri not to repeat their last-lap collision in the Singapore Grand Prix sprint, after the papaya-coloured team-mates spun while fighting for fourth at Turn 5. Norris dived up the inside of Piastri on the final lap, with both cars spinning as a result, Piastri retiring and Norris recovering to eighth, while the stewards took no further action.
Team principal Andrea Stella said discussions with the drivers were ongoing and were not focused on blame. “The conversations that we are having they are not finished, but it's not because we need to go back discussing if Lando was alongside Oscar – that's not the interesting bit," he said. "For me, the interesting bit is a reflection that all the stakeholders, the team, the drivers will have to make around leading together the team, embracing constantly from inside the cockpit the interest of the team as something that is superior to any particular singular individual interest, and why the conversations from this point of view they are not concluded, and there's more we can do to become a more united and even stronger team.” Brown was more direct speaking to Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle on his grand prix grid walk: "Oh yeah. That was a 'don't do that again'. And we didn't say please. That's an order," he said. "It was an unnecessary result for the team when a lot of pressure is on, and we're trying to catch Ferrari and Red Bull's not far behind."
Immediately after the sprint Norris had defended the move, saying "it was a big gap, I went for it, I have the right to do that", but his position had changed by the end of Sunday. "I can't attempt what I did, I should never have attempted it in the first place, even if the move was on. I simply have to think more about the team that I represent more than myself. It was a mistake on my part, I let down the team. I've also apologised to all of them and I owe them all an apology and we'll do better next time," he said.
Norris finished the grand prix itself fourth, with Piastri directly behind in fifth. McLaren are third in the constructors' standings on 339 points, 105 behind Ferrari and only seven ahead of Red Bull, with the tight fight set to continue at the United States Grand Prix in Austin.