Oscar Piastri is furious after a maneuver by Lando Norris in Singapore – McLaren ignores him – Our editors analyze whether the anger was justified
Oscar Piastri vented his feelings after Lando Norris pushed him off the track in the first lap of the Formula 1 race in Singapore and McLaren ignored his complaints. But was the Australian right to be angry? Our editors have their say.
Norris’ overtaking maneuver itself was fair. He had a better start, was completely level and took the apex tightly. Then, after contact with Max Verstappen’s rear wheel, he went wide because the Red Bull was slower than expected at the apex.
It was a slight misjudgment by Norris, but hardly a hostile maneuver against Piastri, who happened to be on the outside and was lightly hit by Norris.
So why was Piastri so upset at that moment? One should not underestimate the adrenaline behind the wheel, especially since Piastri did not have a complete overview of the incident from his limited cockpit perspective. The TV replays may have changed his mind in the meantime. Perhaps he was also angry with himself for leaving the door open for Norris to slip through.
I have another theory: by suggesting that he wanted McLaren to take action, Piastri was more interested in sending a message than he was truly convinced.
This is, of course, a direct consequence of the precedent set by McLaren at Monza when the team waved Norris past after a botched pit stop. That was a decision Piastri didn’t like. Although it was resolved within the team, he can still refer to it if something like that happens in the other direction.
Piastri is, after all, a shrewd tactician. Let’s remember the British Grand Prix, when Piastri received what he considered an unfair time penalty for a safety car offense that put him behind his teammate. He demanded a team order. Piastri said at the time that he knew McLaren would not implement it, but he “thought I’d just ask the question.” McLaren sees no problem with Norris’ maneuver in Singapore, which Piastri will have taken note of for the next situations in the remaining six races.
Yes, but only on themselves – Stuart Codling
If you leave a gap, someone will jump in – whether it’s a reasonable braking distance to the car in front on the highway or the apex of Turn 3 in Singapore. It’s in the nature of drivers to take advantage of these gaps.
Both McLaren drivers have reason to be angry, but they should direct their anger at themselves rather than at each other or the people in the command center. If they have the best car on the grid, they should put it on the front row of the grid and not let themselves be outshone by competitors who brilliantly get something special out of unpredictable cars.
Piastri and Norris took on too much work after Saturday—Norris even more so—and we saw the consequences on Sunday. In Singapore, there is hardly any overtaking unless the car in front nods off at the wheel or suffers a technical defect. Track position is everything, and if they mess that up on Saturday, they have to regain it on Sunday.
No one has to agree with the intensity of Norris’ maneuver in Turn 3, but it was a case of “now or never.” Piastri let it happen.
I liked the Piastri who kept his cool in several earlier races this season and did a better job than Norris, earning himself the championship lead, far more than the one who spent much of the Singapore race complaining about the first-lap incident. That’s pretty undignified for a driver who aspires to join the ranks of the greats.
No, Piastri is feeling the pressure of the title fight – Oleg Karpow
To be honest, Piastri’s complaints over the radio in Singapore seemed a little disproportionate – a bit like a dissatisfied customer returning to the checkout to complain that he was allegedly short 50 cents in change on his last purchase.
It’s just a guess, but Sunday’s race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit left the impression that the Australian actually feels he was robbed in Monza, when the team instructed him to give the position back to Norris.
But Norris’ maneuver at Turn 3 in Singapore was nowhere near as “unfair” as Piastri claimed on the radio. It was a tough battle—sure. Close racing—yes. But no more than that.
After all, Piastri himself tried to overtake Norris on the track with smoking tires in Austria and Hungary this year. He’s not against hard racing himself, is he? And Piastri would never risk an accident with the world championship at stake—he’s the one with more to lose in the event of a possible retirement.
It now feels as if Piastri is starting to feel the pressure of the title fight and losing a touch of his typical coolness in the process. That wasn’t the usual calm Piastri on the radio.
However, if he feels he is being treated unfairly, perhaps it’s time to speak up. After the race, he chose to remain silent to the media—he deflected all questions about whether his teammate was receiving preferential treatment under the so-called “papaya rules.” But in the car, he questions the team’s decisions.
If that’s the case, however, there is a solution. McLaren could lift the “rules” as the team has the Constructors’ Championship safely in the bag. It may be time for Piastri himself to go to his bosses and ask for no further interference.
Yes, from his perspective – Jake Boxall-Legge
Let’s put ourselves in his shoes for the first few hundred meters. He had a decent start, but not one that would allow him to overtake Verstappen or George Russell ahead of him. He sees Norris’ other orange car in his mirrors. At this point, he tried to defend his position and took a defensive stance in Turn 3—but Norris had the better exit and was level with him.
Piastri gives him the space and still gets hit. He doesn’t know that Verstappen lifted briefly at Turn 3 and Norris touched him first—from his isolated view in the cockpit, he did everything right and still got hit. Of course, he’s upset about it. But I bet if he looks at it again, he’d come to a different assessment. I don’t think it’s wrong for Piastri to be upset, but it would be outrageous if he continued to hold a grudge about it. Now that the Constructors’ Championship is secured, the kid gloves should come off in the title fight. Norris and Piastri should be allowed to battle like this in every race.
After all, it’s a world championship battle; the polemic between right and wrong is becoming increasingly blurred in this situation, and the tussle in Singapore was one that Norris wanted to get involved in and Piastri didn’t.
As a neutral observer, it’s fun to see how the story is writing itself. A few races ago, Norris was still the soft boy without the killer instinct needed to become champion, while Piastri was the unshakeable model student with steely determination.