Former Grand Prix winner defends Lando Norris' bold overtaking move on Oscar Piastri

Former F1 race-winner Johnny Herbert has claimed that Lando Norris did nothing wrong, as he made an aggressive move to overtake teammate Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Briton added that Norris' move was simply "racing."

A Lap 1 tangle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the Singapore GP left the latter infuriated as he claimed that he was barged out of the way by his teammate. Norris, on the other hand, felt that being aggressive on the race start paid off, as he held onto his position and finished third.

While Piastri did not make any comments about the move post-race, he made his feelings pretty clear during the Grand Prix, stating that he was unfairly passed by Norris.

Now, former F1 race-winner Johnny Herbert has become the latest name in a long list of experts to have shared their opinions on the move, claiming that Norris did nothing wrong.

"I don't think there was anything wrong with what Lando did. Yes, there was a little bit of rubbing each other, but that's racing. Oscar is very aware that's racing because in Monza, when they were told to switch, I think he said, 'That’s not racing," said Herbert, via GPblog.

"In Singapore, that's a part and parcel of racing, and you've got to race hard. We know Max [Verstappen] will race hard; [Ayrton] Senna and all the greats of the sport raced hard," he added.

Piastri was left frustrated after the move from Norris, and even more so when the McLaren team told him that they would not intervene, asking the 25-year-old to give the position back. The Papaya team told Piastri that Norris collided with him, as he was trying to avoid the back of Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

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Johnny Herbert backs Lando Norris to claim 2025 F1 drivers' title over Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after the Singapore Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Johnny Herbert has backed Lando Norris to claim the 2025 drivers' title over Oscar Piastri, claiming that he has the minerals to become a world champion. Norris has reduced the gap to his teammate in the standings since and is now only 22 points adrift.

When asked who would win the drivers' title this year between Norris and Piastri on Lucas Stewart's YouTube channel, Herbert said:

"I think Lando has got what it takes."

Herbert made this claim before the Singapore GP, when the difference between Norris and Piastri was 25 points. Now, partially thanks to Norris' aggressive move on Piastri at the Marina Bay circuit, this deficit is under a race win.

Max Verstappen also maintains an outside shot of claiming his fifth championship, after he further reduced his gap to the championship leader to just 63 points after Singapore.