After the start of the two McLaren pilots at the Grand Prix of Singapore 2025, Lando Norris rejects allegations of an “aggressive” overtaking maneuver. Previously, Oscar Piatri had complained about the campaign on Teamfunk: “So we agree that Lando simply puts me out of the way?” The Australian sparked.
In the subsequent press conference after the race, Norris initially does not have a precise memory of the incident – until she returns: “The start was good, the right side of the starting line -up had grip. I got away well, got into a good position so as not to be slowed down.”
“Inside next Oscar, it was a big gap, and it was just very tight. The route was still moist in places, and I think I easily touched Max ‘car at the back. But that was also a little correction. But that was already good. I made two positions – and if I couldn’t have done it, it would have been impossible later.
On the demand from moderator Tom Clarkson whether this was not “aggressive against the teammate”, Norris replies dryly: “I met Max – so it wasn’t aggressive against my teammate.”
“No Further Action”: Racing comissaries put McLaren incidents on the files
Norris argues that contact with Verstappen has triggered the light collision with Piatri. In view of the difficult overtaking opportunities on the narrow city course, the still damp route after the rain and a weak start from the unfavorable side was a moment when many drivers thought: now or never.
The Briton benefited from its starting position on the clean side of the route. He immediately passed Kimi Antonelli from fifth place, who – like Verstappen – fought with crazy bikes. Norris attacked in curve one, drove over the inner cerb and came next to Piatri. That cost momentum, and Piatri was half a car length at the corner output. But because he had to dodge slightly, he lost traction – Norris was on the same way again and had the inner line in curve three.
Norris concentrated so much to assert himself that he slightly touched with the front edge of his McLaren – the left end plate of his front wing remained wrong until the end of the race – and then got hiked on bike with Piatri wheel.
One could say that Norris had no more space – or that he had created this situation himself. The racing commissioners ultimately decided that nobody was “predominantly or completely guilty”, and let the matter go through as an ordinary event.
Has Norris broken the papaya rules?
The location is more delicate in the team context. Little is known about the internal “papaya rules” that regulate the behavior of the McLaren pilots against each other-but it is considered certain that “do not touch the teammates” is quite high on the list. Piatris displeasure is therefore understandable, especially since he may have perceived the scene differently with a limited perspective in the cockpit. Perhaps his opinion changes when he has seen the recordings of all cameras.
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Ayrton Senna once said: “If you don’t look for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver.” A sentence that is often used for justification of questionable maneuvers – and closely close to the Norris. “Maybe I look at it and find something that I could have done better,” he admits.
“But everyone in the field would have done the same. If I was accused of using a big gap inside, you don’t belong in Formula 1. I don’t think I did something wrong. I only easily misjudged how close to Max – that just happened. Otherwise nothing happened. And I would have stayed in front of Oscar because I had the inner line and he was on the dirty side.”
So it was not a targeted attack, but an awkward, almost desperate maneuver – and one that team boss Andrea Stella is now making the task more difficult to maintain internal peace at McLaren.