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Lando Norris cleared the air around the incident he shared with his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix. Many claimed that his actions were "intentional," but Norris suggested otherwise.
McLaren clinched their 10th Constructors' Championship in Singapore; however, the race was quite heated between their drivers. Starting the race in P3, Piastri had the upper hand over his teammate. However, leading to turn one, Norris attempted a quick overtake and ended up bumping into his teammate, eventually gaining the place.
Piastri reported the incident to the team, suggesting that Norris should give the position back. But as the stewards deemed it to be a racing incident, there were no team orders, and Norris finished P3 and his teammate in P4.
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Many criticized Lando Norris for the incident, but he claimed that it was "silly" to think that he would intentionally crash into any driver, let alone his teammate.
"Like, I don’t want to make contact with anyone, because there’s just as much chance I ruined my own race and put myself out," Norris said. "So yeah, you’re silly, if you think it’s an intentional thing, especially when it’s on my teammate. It’s the thing I want to avoid the most."
Despite the online criticism, Norris has a firm stance on the incident, calling it a part of racing.
"I think it was racing:" Lando Norris backs FIA's decision on his incident with Oscar Piastri
The stewards were quick to launch an investigation into the incident that the teammates faced as the race went on. Subsequently, no penalties were given as the FIA deemed it to be a racing incident.
Lando Norris mentioned that the team will discuss the incident soon, but defending his move, he claimed that it was a part of racing.
"There was a big gap on the left, like, easily a car’s width, and I put myself there," he continued. "So we’ll talk about it. There’s nothing else I think I should have done. Any driver on the grid would have done what I did. Of course, unfortunate, I don’t want those things to happen, but I think it was racing."
"And clearly, the FIA think that as well."
Oscar Piastri still leads the Drivers' Championship standings after the race, but Norris managed to narrow it down to just 22 points. With six races remaining in the season, the teammates are expected to get closer and have a tough fight till the last race in Yas Marina.
