The Australian driver calls Norris move 'not fair' as George Russell takes the checkered flag
Friction between title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri escalated significantly as their McLaren team secured the team title at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Norris slid into Piastri while passing him at the initial turn at the start of the race, prompting the driver from Australia to state it was "not fair" the team did not ask them to reverse positions.
On-track Incident Overshadows Constructors' Triumph
The incident that is likely to cause problems at McLaren came as Norris dived down the inner line of Piastri after making a good start from fifth on the grid.
Norris was surprised by Verstappen decelerating more than he anticipated in the apex of Turn Three.
Norris made contact with the Red Bull, compromising the McLaren's nose section, and that caused him to deflect side-on into Piastri, whose pace was checked, allowing Norris to move ahead into P3.
Team Radio Reveal Increasing Friction
Piastri said over the team communication: "That wasn't very team-like, but sure."
Moments later, he continued: "Are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?"
His engineer replied that the team were "reviewing the situation", before coming back to tell Piastri that they would take "no action" in the race because "Lando had to avoid Verstappen" and that they would "review it afterwards".
Title Race Impact
- Piastri's points advantage over Norris was reduced to 22 points with half a dozen events remaining
- Verstappen has also gained ground and is 63 adrift of the championship lead
- McLaren secured their back-to-back team championship
Race Summary
George Russell controlled the race at the front on his way to a dominant win, very much in the manner of his victory in Canada back in June.
Verstappen chose to start the race on soft tyres rather than the medium compound on most other cars in the leading group, but the choice did not prove successful and Russell comfortably maintained the first position at the start before building a significant advantage.
"The track conditions were challenging, but it's racing. I put it on the inside, had a small correction but nothing more than that. It was good racing." - Lando Norris
Best of the Rest
Mercedes' rookie Kimi Antonelli secured fifth place, overtaking Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on the fifty-fourth lap as the Ferrari faded, and then holding off Lewis Hamilton in the final stages.
Fernando Alonso drove an excellent race to take eighth as the top performer outside the leading teams.
The Spanish driver and Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar fought a brief battle in the opening stages, Alonso overtaking Hadjar into the initial turn to take P8, before the Frenchman regained the position later in the lap, only for Alonso to retake the position on the third circuit.
