Reigning World Champion Lando Norris has confirmed he ‘must put’ McLaren before himself in future, after his coming together with Oscar Piastri in Singapore.
During the Sprint race at the Marina Bay Circuit, Norris and teammate Piastri collided during the final lap after Norris attempted a move on the Australian at Turn 5.
The touch sent both men spinning out of fourth and fifth places respectively, with Piastri retiring altogether. Norris recovered to finish eighth.
Nine points became eight, a crucial number in the Constructors’ Championship, leaving the Woking-based squad’s hierarchy furious.
While Norris did apologise to Piastri and the latter acknowledging collective willingness to move on with the analysing the incident, Team Principal Andrea Stella has confirmed that the team is ‘not finished’ with its driver talks and wants to achieve a clear, united plan moving forward to the last few races.
After Sunday’s Grand Prix, in which he finished fourth, one place ahead of Piastri, Norris was asked about Stella’s comments and if he is expecting further talks with the team.
“No, it is pretty straightforward,” he responded.
“I cannot attempt what I did, I should never have done it in the first place, even if the move was on.
“I’ve got to think more about the team that I represent than myself.
“It was a mistake on my part, and I let the team down. I have also apologised to them and I owe them all an apology. We will do better next time.”
Norris already put his team work in action by offering to help Piastri out during Sunday’s Grand Prix in Singapore, to which his actions were welcomed by his team principal.
Although the help was welcomed, McLaren did not take Norris up on the offer, however Piastri was successful regardless and crossed the line P5 behind Lando in P4.
“I had a few issues with my own car, so there was more of an opportunity to help Oscar score more points than there was of me catching Kimi [Antonelli].
“I saw there was like three, four cars in between. I asked, but I didn’t need to in the end and we still got the best possible points as a team.”
McLaren remain in third in the Constructors standing heading into Austin next week but Red bull sit only seven points back.
With Max Verstappen being in top form, can McLaren stop Red Bull from overtaking or will the RB22’s continuing rejuvenation be too much for them?
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