"I can't afford to make contact": Norris addresses Singapore incident with Piastri
- Kavi Khandelwal
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
Written by Kavi Khandelwal, Edited by Meghana Sree
The mood in the McLaren garage should be one of pure celebration. Here at the Circuit of the Americas, the papaya team wears the freshly-won crown of the 2025 Formula One Constructors' Champions.
Yet, the paddock buzz isn't just about their collective triumph; it's about the palpable tension of the individual battle that triumph has unleashed: a head-to-head fight for the World Drivers' Championship where Oscar Piastri holds a 22-point lead over the team's established star, Lando Norris.
The first-lap clash at Marina Bay, where Norris made an aggressive move on his teammate, prompted a frustrated Piastri to question the move over the team radio. Now in Austin, both drivers have shed more light on the aftermath of the incident.
Norris confirmed that he has not escaped sanction for his role in the contact. He explained: "Things are reviewed, and there are and will be repercussions for me until the end of the season. It's not like I've got away with anything, but it was also an incident that, let's say, was small and there was potential to try and avoid it".
The Briton also stressed the personal cost of such moments, stating: "I can't afford to make contact and have anything happen like what happened, because I put just as much risk on my whole championship from something going wrong, as I do on whoever I might be racing against".
His teammate, Oscar Piastri, confirmed the internal discussions were successful and that the team is ready to move on.
Piastri said: "I think the talks from Singapore were very productive with everyone involved. I think the conclusion was what happens in Singapore is not how we want to go racing as a team, and ultimately Lando [Norris] has taken responsibility for that".
Speaking in the Austin paddock on Thursday, Team Principal Andrea Stella backed up his drivers' comments. He said: "The conversations after Singapore have been very positive, very constructive. We had a situation in which there was contact between our cars so this required to be reviewed under the racing framework that we use to go racing together as a team, with Lando and Oscar [Piastri]".
Stella also explained the team's reasoning behind the secrecy of the repercussions, an idea Piastri elaborated on. The Australian said: "Ultimately we've got to race against nine other teams as well, 18 others, and we don't want to give away anything that is sensitive to our team. I think it's more than fair to keep that for ourselves, because we don't want to give other teams an advantage on what it could be".
As the engines fire up in the Texas heat, McLaren has already won the team war. But a new, more personal battle is just beginning, managed under a framework both drivers have accepted. With the team deciding that Singapore was "not an acceptable Lap 1," the repercussions will follow Norris' every move all the way to the final chequered flag.
