So there was “finally” a rumble between the McLaren rivals for the Formula 1 world championship title. In Singapore, pursuer Lando Norris slipped into the car, followed by leader Oscar Piastri, who was then well served. A taste? Is there now a regular outbreak of the papaya “civil war” that the British Bloodhound press is already sensing?
“If you no longer poke into a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racer.” A sentence from Formula 1 icon Ayrton Senna burned into asphalt. An axiom perhaps, an unprovable principle. A kind of law for Formula 1 drivers to prove themselves.
Lando Norris carried out the orders of F1 Zeus, who died in 1994, last Sunday in Singapore. Immediately after the start of the Night Grand Prix, a gap opened up for the Brit in the first combination of corners on the inside lane – which he consequently pushed into.
Norris didn’t care that world champion Max Verstappen was in front of him and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri was on his right. For the racing driver it was time to make up ground, gain positions and catch up in the World Championship duel with Piastri.
What Formula 1 observers had been painting on the wall for months happened. There was rough contact between the McLaren rivals.
Because Verstappen put his foot down in turn two, Norris also had to brake more abruptly than expected. His resulting counter-steering resulted in the Englishman hitting Piastri’s left front tire with his right front tire. Not a serious collision, but one with spice.
Despite the collision with Piastri: Norris stuck to Papaya Rules
Piastri was unsurprisingly not amused. The Australian complained on the team radio that the “shitty” action of his garage neighbor was “not fair”. His race engineer’s reprimand that Norris had to brake and swerve because of Verstappen didn’t really calm Piastri’s otherwise cool disposition. He had lost third place to his World Championship rival and no longer played a role in the battle for the top spot.
When McLaren boss Zak Brown congratulated the drivers after the GP and thanked them for their contribution to the British racing team’s tenth team title, Piastri unplugged the radio. An indication of how the world championship leader’s racing soul was fermenting.
In the Drivers’ World Championship, Piastri only lost three points to Norris. But: He lost out in what was perhaps the first real duel of the season – at least since it became clear that the McLaren drivers were fighting for the title. A blow to the racing driver’s ego – especially since boss Brown didn’t see the incident as anything more than “hard racing”.
Video: Eifel Satan Verstappen tames the Green Hell
This puts Brown in line with the fans who crave such wheel-to-wheel battles between stablemates – and also in line with Senna’s dictum. Because: Norris really didn’t do anything wrong in Singapore, nor did he violate the legendary “Papaya Rules” that McLaren imposed on its drivers.
Things can get tough as long as it remains fair, is the credo of the orange rules. Was things tough in Singapore? Yes, but not too hard either, after all, no carbon broke (unlike mid-June in Canada, when Norris shattered his front wing in an attack on Piastri in the fight for fourth place). Was it “unfair” on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, as Piastri complained in rapid-fire frustration? No.
Norris had no evil or underhanded intentions against his rival in his maneuver. The fact that he hit Piastri’s car was due to the circumstances. And Piastri would have made the same decision to jump into the gap. Like a Verstappen, like a Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, probably also like a Franco Colapinto. Like probably every racing driver according to Senna’s definition.
McLaren has experience with stable wars
Is the climate at McLaren now poisoned, has the “civil war” begun, as the “Daily Mail” sensationally warned? Will Brown and team boss Andrea Stella “continue to have headaches for a long time,” as the Guardian’s migraine experts fear?
On the topic of headaches. Yes, the duel between the McLaren colleagues will be tougher in the hot final phase of the season, as long as none of the opponents falls behind due to defects. Singapore situations and potential collisions are likely to occur more frequently. The nature of the Formula 1 thing means there is also more activity on the team’s command bridge.
But bad mood? Team war? That’s a bit too thick. On the one hand, McLaren has the manufacturer’s title in its pocket, which brings a sense of calm to the stable (also because the mechanics certainly have a big bonus with it). What may now emerge – depending on the race and fortune – is a “classic” F1 rivalry between stablemates.
Of course, McLaren has experience in this. The racing team has always given its drivers a longer leash than Ferrari, for example. There wasn’t even a “Let Michael pass for the championship” when Mika Häkkinen fought for the title against Michael Schumacher and had David Coulthard firmly under control.
The most legendary McLaren feud was carried out by Senna and Alain Prost, who fought each other in the cars from Woking in 1988/89. The limit dancer from Brazil and the French “professor” – worlds collided. Senna despised Prost’s calculated style. He, in turn, couldn’t do anything with the hot-blooded Senna.
Piastri and Norris on the way to Senna/Prost
The always cool and controlled Piastri and “bundle of nerves” Norris are also completely different types. However, a real Formula 1 enmity has not (yet) arisen from the duel. So far it’s also a matter of circumstances.
For Norris, the attack window in Singapore was almost wide open compared to the finger-wide gap that Senna made at the 1989 season finale in Japan before rushing into Prost. Piastri should see it that way with some honesty – but of course he will act the same way next time.
“It will of course crash at some point,” predicted RTL expert Christian Danner at the end of August sport.de-Interview with a view to the World Cup fight. And: “If Piastri and Norris win the World Cup between themselves, it will be a Prost/Senna or Hamilton/Rosberg number.”
You don’t have to be a prophet to make this prediction. But probably a racing driver.