McLaren Racing team principal Andrea Stella has confirmed that the team will review the incident between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix. The Woking-based outfit won its second consecutive championship at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, after Norris and Piastri secured P3 and P4.
Piastri started the race from third and Norris from fifth, but the latter decided to make a brave move on Turn 3, leading him to make contact with his teammate. Norris still went past him to chase Max Verstappen in second. Furious with the incident, Piastri questioned the fairness of the move, asking McLaren for assistance.
The Australian driver has helped Norris in the past, fulfilling team orders on race weekends every time McLaren asked him to comply. However, in the interest of fair racing, McLaren did not interfere in Singapore, citing that the matter would be looked into after the race. The response disappointed Piastri, which was evident in the post-race interview. He leads the Drivers’ Standings, but the P4 race finish at Singapore narrowed the gap to Norris, who is placed second, to just 22 points.
Stella has suggested that, despite the team winning the championship, the Papaya Rules policy will still be in place in the interest of fair racing, and spoke about the internal review of the clash between the two drivers. He said:
“I can confirm that winning the Constructors’ and pursuing the Drivers’ Championship, they kind of travel along independent tracks, because the internal competition in terms of the Drivers’ Championship is regulated by principle.
“We talk about, for instance, team interest. But the team’s interest is also to make sure that we have fair racing between our two drivers, that they can pursue their aspirations, and that there is sportsmanship in the way we go racing.
“These are the guiding principles that remain even if we have achieved the Constructors’ Championship. In reality, we get more and more of fine-tuning by reviewing each event, from which, even when things look like they were going perfectly, you always have a little bit to learn and review. So this race offers a little bit to learn and review, and that’s what we will do.”
He added:
“Our review needs to be very detailed, very analytical. It needs to take into account the point of view of our two drivers.
“Then, we will form a common opinion, based on which we will see whether we can just confirm our initial interpretation, or there’s something else that we should conclude in terms of, like, the going for the gap, I think it’s just a bit too much of a coarse approach.
“Let me say we need to retain a higher degree of sophistication and detail, because there are so many elements that you need to take into account. We need to make sure that we don’t become too quick in drawing conclusions.
“We need to be accurate, because there’s a lot at stake, and the lot of stake is not only the championship points, but it’s also the trust of our drivers in the way we operate as a team.
“This is, if anything, even more foundational than the points themselves. So we will apply all the accuracy that is required in this case and all the conversations that are needed.”