Lando Norris has defended his last-lap attempt to overtake Oscar Piastri in Saturday’s Singapore Grand Prix Sprint, insisting “the move was on” despite a collision between the McLaren teammates that turned a promising points haul into a costly intra-team controversy.
The reigning world champion lunged down the inside of Piastri at Turn 5 as the pair battled for fourth and fifth in the closing stages.
But the manoeuvre ended in disaster: the two MCL40s made contact and spun, with Norris eventually recovering to finish eighth while Piastri was forced to retire.
Norris salvaged a single point, but McLaren lost eight points in the exchange, with the incident also leaving the team facing a frantic repair job ahead of qualifying. The Briton has been summoned to the stewards, who are investigating the collision.
Asked immediately after the race to explain what had happened, Norris was reluctant to deliver a definitive verdict before reviewing the footage.
“I'd rather just go back and review it,” Norris told Sky Sports.
Pressed on whether he believed an opportunity to pass Piastri had genuinely presented itself, however, the Briton was unequivocal.
“It was…“ he said. “I apologize to them that one of the cars is out, but like I said, the rest of it we'll go review.
“The gap closed a bit more than I would have liked, and obviously I've had to back out of it because the gap was closing. So I tried to avoid the incident, and obviously there still was one. But that was a big gap, so I went for it. I have the right to do that.”
Norris saw an opportunity, Piastri sees the damage
Norris’s insistence that the move was on raises an obvious question for McLaren: did the reigning champion see a legitimate opening, or did his determination to get past his teammate turn a manageable fight for Sprint points into an entirely avoidable collision?
The timing could hardly have been worse. With the race approaching its conclusion, both drivers were in position to bring home a useful haul for the constructors’ championship. Instead, their battle ended with one car stranded and the other limping home at the back of the points.
©McLaren
Piastri, meanwhile, had yet to properly review the incident when he addressed the media. The Australian offered little immediate judgment on Norris’s move, but his frustration was clear when considering the consequences for the team.
“I've not seen it properly. I mean, from where I sit, it's fourth and fifth for a sprint race, so not that bothered either way,” Piastri admitted.
Singapore Grand Prix: Sprint Race ResultsHis attention was firmly on the workload awaiting McLaren’s mechanics rather than the argument over who was to blame.
“Just obviously it's a lot of work now for the team to get both cars fixed, so, just a shame for the team.”
McLaren faces a race against the clock
Weather-related delays had already disrupted Saturday’s schedule, pushing back the Sprint and subsequently affecting preparations for qualifying. The additional damage to both McLarens only compounded the pressure on the team.
With qualifying still to come, McLaren must repair the cars and establish precisely how its two drivers ended up colliding while fighting for relatively modest Sprint rewards.
Norris has offered an apology for the outcome, but his defence of the move suggests he is not yet conceding that the decision itself was wrong. The stewards’ verdict, along with a closer examination of the footage, will help determine whether his assessment stands up to scrutiny.
For McLaren, the immediate priority is getting both cars back on track. The bigger question is whether the team will view the incident as an unfortunate racing clash or a needless own goal in a battle between its own drivers.
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