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The British driver claims that "every competitor on the starting lineup" would have made the maneuver that caused renewed tension between Norris and his McLaren teammate the Australian during the recent race.

The Briton collided with Piastri on the corner exit of the third corner at the Singapore circuit after a bump with the leading car sent his car sideways.

This incident threatens to disrupt the carefully maintained harmony that McLaren has successfully preserved between both competitors through strategic leadership.

Before the race, Norris was behind Piastri by a significant margin in the championship standings, and reduced that deficit by only three points after taking the final podium spot behind the Mercedes driver and Verstappen, with Piastri following in P4.

Driver Perspectives

Norris insisted he had acted appropriately in passing his teammate.

"Every driver on the starting lineup would have attempted what I did," he commented. "Should you fault me for taking a racing gap, you don't belong in Formula 1.

"My car was slightly too close to Verstappen, but that's racing. Nothing serious happened, I'm certain I would have finished in front of Piastri anyway because he had the less favorable part of the track on the outside.

"Naturally I need to review it and the last thing I want is collision with my teammate. I am the one who must avoid such situations. I would endanger my position just as much if similar things happened.

"I'll review it but the governing body clearly thought it was fine and the McLaren did, as well."

Norris denied he had been overly aggressive with Piastri. "I made contact with Max," he explained, "meaning I wasn't aggressive with my racing partner."

McLaren's Response

The Australian showed displeasure about the incident. He communicated over the in-car communication that the team's decision to do nothing about it was "unjust."

After the race, he was circumspect, stating he needed to review the incident before making additional statements.

"The primary issue is two cars coming together," he commented. "That's never what we desire, so I'll analyze it in more depth."

Piastri has previously been the competitor to suffer in at least multiple debatable incidents this year.

In Hungary, he was the team's frontrunner early in the race but Norris was allowed to use a different strategy to overtake his teammate, a decision that competitors have questioned.

During the Italian Grand Prix, Piastri was ordered to allow his teammate through for second place after the British driver was held up by a lengthy service. Piastri expressed concern that he believed there had been an understanding that a slow pit stop was just normal competition that had to be tolerated, but acquiesced regardless.

Behind the scenes, he was unhappy about that circumstance, and he and the team held discussions to address the matter.

But when asked after Sunday's race whether he had any concerns that his teammate might be receiving preferential treatment, the Australian responded: "None."

Was he convinced the team had been fair throughout the championship?

"Ultimately, yes," Piastri said. "Might situations have been improved at certain points? Certainly, but ultimately it's a learning process with the entire team and I'm very happy that the intentions are very well meaning, if that makes sense."

Management Perspective

McLaren boss the Italian said: "We'll have thorough reviews, productive conversations and, like after Canada, we'll come back more resilient and more cohesive."

Stella explained that although the squad had analyzed the collision in its immediate aftermath, "the collision is, in reality, a result of another racing situation that happened between Lando and Verstappen."

He continued: "Oscar made some comments while he was in the car but that's the kind of attitude that we expect from our competitors. They have to express their views, that's what we ask of them.

"Our analysis needs to be extremely thorough, very analytical, it needs to take into account the viewpoint of our both competitors, and then we will form a common opinion upon which we will see whether we can simply validate our first assessment or there's additional factors that we should conclude.

"Every time we start our discussions with the drivers, we always recall, as a premise: 'This is challenging'.

"Since this is the only matter in which, when you race together, actually you cannot maintain exactly the same interest for the two drivers, because they seek to achieve their personal goals. This is a core concept of the way we race at McLaren.

"We must remain precise, because there's a lot at stake. That's not just the championship points, but it's additionally the trust of our drivers in the way we operate as a squad, and this is, perhaps, more fundamental than the points themselves."

McLaren's Success

The incident drew focus from the British team securing the constructors' championship for the second year running.

It is McLaren's 10th constructors' title, moving them above Williams in the all-time list into runner-up position behind record-holders the Italian team, who have claimed it 16 times since the championship's inception in 1958.

This achievement represents one of the earliest times a squad has done this. It matches Red Bull's feat in winning with multiple events remaining in last season, although that was a shorter championship compared with twenty-four this year.

McLaren's advantage has diminished as the championship heads into its final stages. That is due in part to the characteristics of the three most recent circuits not suiting its capabilities, and also because McLaren turned off the development program some time ago, while Mercedes and Red Bull still have new parts arriving to their cars.

That decision by the team was based on the fact that they were experiencing diminishing returns in improving this car, common when a concept has such an advantage at the beginning of a season, and that they wanted to ensure they were ready for the following season.

Norris, however, is well aware of the scale of his team's achievement, and the impressive transformation they have demonstrated under Stella and CEO their leader from just over two years ago, when they started the 2023 season near the rear of the field.

"Another title is a great thing," Norris commented. "If you consider where we were previously, we have surpassed every squad in terms of development in a time when it is harder to achieve with increased limitations and less wind tunnel time.

"In an era when it should be harder than ever to excel, that's exactly what the team has done and given us, clearly, the fastest vehicle on the starting lineup.

"It's consistently a pleasing aspect to say. It always brings satisfaction on your face. But we've additionally excelled as a team in terms of drivers, between Piastri and myself {pushing each other