‘Not finished’: Fresh twist in aftermath of ugly McLaren clash
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has declared he’s “not finished” holding talks with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris after their controversial clash on the last lap of the Singapore sprint race.
The Aussie was tipped into a spin and into the concrete wall when Norris made a desperate lunge down the inside. The pair were running fourth and fifth at the time.
Lando Norris made contact with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri on the last lap of the Singapore Grand Prix sprint race. Fox Sports
After the race, Stella branded the collision "absolutely not acceptable", and promised both drivers would be given a dressing down. The stewards elected against penalising Norris, which is common in intra-team incidents given there's rarely a prosecution argument.
Norris defended the move immediately after the race, but later apologised to Piastri and the team. During Sunday’s grand prix, Norris even offered to help Piastri in his fight against Lewis Hamilton.
But Stella said the team would reconvene ahead of the next race in the USA, but not to attribute blame.
"I classified (the clash) as unacceptable, which is a statement that comes from the team principal, but I was very encouraged by the fact that it is a statement that very rapidly came from our drivers as well," Stella said per Planet F1.
"So we are aligned as to how we want to lead this team forward in a joint effort between the team and the drivers.
"The conversations that we are having, they are not finished. But it's not because we need to go back to discussing if Lando was alongside Oscar. That’s not the interesting bit.
"For me, the interesting bit is a reflection that all the stakeholders, the team, the drivers will have to make around leading together the team, embracing constantly from inside the cockpit the interest of the team, as something that is superior to any particular, singular, individual interest.
"(That's) why the conversations from this point of view, they are not concluded, and there's more we can do to become a more united and even stronger team."
Norris was heavily criticised by fans for a tense post-race interview, when he appeared to clip a journalist for suggesting the move was unnecessary given it was on his teammate and worth only one solitary extra point in the world championship.
"What, to go for a big gap? Or overtake? What's the title of the race? Sprint … what's after sprint?," Norris said.
When the reporter replied "race", Norris sarcastically replied, "Wow, good job. Yeah, it's race!"
The McLaren duo were running fifth and sixth when they collided on the last lap. Getty Images
By the time he arrived back at the track the next morning, he had changed his tune.
"It's pretty straightforward. I can't attempt what I did," Norris said.
"I should never have attempted it in the first place, even if the move was on. I … have to think more of the team that I represent than myself. It was a mistake on my part and I let down the team.
"I've also apologised to all of them and I owe them all an apology. We'll do better next time."
Stella continued he was "pleased" Norris had come to that conclusion.
"This is what I expect, as a team principal. This is what the 1,000 people that work at McLaren expect from our drivers," he said.
"So it's good that we have had this example, and I expect definitely more of that in the future, independently of the fact that they will be heard on the radio, or they will happen behind closed doors in every meeting, or in the way we approach our race plan."
F1 will enjoy a week off, before the US Grand Prix kicks off a gruelling run of six races in seven weeks to end the season, although doubt still lingers over the viability of the season-ending double-header in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
The Imola circuit, which dropped off the 2026 calendar, is on standby to host the finale.
