There’s a saying that pressure is a privilege, and that’s certainly the case for McLaren right now.
Creating such a dominant car and having two closely-matched drivers operating at a high level gives it such a strong chance of doing a championship double, but that is never a smooth path when title rivals are fighting.
An extremely impressive constructors’ championship success was sealed in Singapore with a quarter of the season still to go, but it was at risk of being overshadowed by a close moment between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at Turn 3 that had the Australian questioning his team for a lack of action over the radio.
“That wasn’t very team-like, but sure,” Piastri said after contact between the two, before later asking: “Are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?”
In reality, the barge wasn’t the result of an intentional move by Norris, but more a byproduct of not only Norris trying to pass the championship leader, but also making contact with the rear Max Verstappen’s car, inducing a snap that brought the two McLarens together.
The contact might have been light, but it was the result of aggression from Norris either way.
“I think the start was good – just the right-hand side of the grid was good,” Norris said. “I think it was a good launch as well, so I got across and put myself in a good position to not get checked up out of Turn 1 and into Turn 2.
“Just had a big up on the inside of Oscar. It was very close, so slippery because it was still damp in places and drying out. I think I just clipped the back of Max’s car, and that just gave me a little correction, but then that was it.
“Good in terms of getting two positions. If I didn’t get them there, I probably never would have got them, just because, like we saw, it was too difficult to overtake. The aggression there and the forward thinking paid off.”
Norris then clarified: “I hit Max, so it wasn’t aggressive on my teammate.”
Piastri was not so convinced at the time, nor was his side of the garage, with some surprised that there was no radio message sent to Norris about the move. In both Austria and Hungary this year, Piastri was warned about attempts to overtake his teammate that were deemed too far beyond acceptable levels.
But on each occasion, Piastri was still the following car and might try a move again. Whereas on Sunday in Singapore, the lunge led to Norris getting ahead, and aside from imposing a team order to give the place up, you could argue any communication with Norris on the incident after that could wait.
It would have to wait a little longer, as the combined finishes of third and fourth secured the constructors’ title and kicked off celebrations that would prevent the team from immediately dealing with any fallout between the drivers.
But it didn’t stop it from being the first topic of conversation when team principal Andrea Stella spoke.
“I think the first-lap situation is one of those that can happen if it’s a close race,” Stella said. “We will review the situation together with our drivers. We will have the good conversations like we had, for instance, after Canada. This review gave us the opportunity after Canada to come back, like we said at the time, even more united and stronger as a team.
“We will see if there’s any learning and anything that we need to fine-tune in terms of our approach, but I think this will just lead to some good conversations.
“Obviously, Oscar made some statements while he was in the car, but that’s the kind of character that we want to have from our drivers. They have to make their position very clear. That’s what we ask them.
“At the same time, we have to put things in perspective – the perspective of a driver that is in a Formula 1 car with the intensity of it being the first lap, the perspective that obviously just saw Lando moving into him. We know that Lando had a contact with Verstappen, and obviously on to Oscar, so we will have good reviews, good conversations, and like after Canada, we’ll come back stronger than ever.”
Scuffles between the two McLaren drivers keep happening, but the fact remains – both still agree the other would do the same thing in the same position. James Sutton/Getty Images
Norris claimed, “Anyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing as I did,” adding, “I think you shouldn’t be in Formula 1,” if you faulted him for the decision to go for a gap.
Stella warned there could be two sides to such an approach, and that a more nuanced analysis would be necessary in order to keep both drivers on side.
“Our review needs to be very detailed, very analytical,” Stella expanded. “It needs to take into account the point of view of our two drivers, and then we’ll form a common opinion, based on which we will see whether we can just comply with our initial interpretation, or there’s something else that we should conclude.
“In terms of going for the gap, I think it’s just a bit too much of a coarse approach, let me say. We need to retain a higher degree of sophistication and detail, because there’s so many elements that you need to take into account, and we need to make sure that we don’t become too quick in drawing conclusions.
“We need to be accurate, because there’s a lot at stake. A lot at stake is not only the championship points, but it’s also the trust of our drivers in the way we operate as a team. This is, if anything, even more foundational than the points themselves. We will apply all the accuracy that is required in this case, and all the conversations that are needed.”
Norris came across as defensive at times post-race, but also stated he needed to analyze the incident himself having jumped out of the car. Piastri took the same stance and would not be drawn on a firm opinion on the record, with both drivers showing an understanding that there could be more to the contact.
With Stella so keen to protect the trust of the pair, the party feeling wronged – Piastri – confirmed he retained a full belief that the two drivers are being treated equally.
“I think, ultimately, yes,” Piastri said. “There’s obviously been some difficult situations for the whole team, and we’ve obviously spoken about a number of things.
“Could things have been better at certain points? Yes. Ultimately it’s a learning process with the whole team.
“I’m very, very happy that the intentions are very well meaning, if that makes sense. I have absolutely no concerns about that. Obviously there’s been some tough situations this year, and this is another one.”
With back-to-back constructors’ championships in the bag, McLaren knows even more focus will turn to how it handles its two drivers. It shouldn’t temper the celebrations or the praise for the job the team has done collectively so far, but the fact that talks are required that involve the drivers – after a race where Max Verstappen gained even more ground – just highlights how the Singapore success will pale into insignificance against the backdrop of the drivers’ fight.
