Piastri made his opinion clear – The 'character' McLaren wants!
Oscar Piastri on the grid ahead of the Singapore GP - Photo: Race Pictures
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Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
McLaren wants Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to voice their opinions clearly, team boss Andrea Stella explained in Singapore.
"We do ask our drivers to make their position very clear. And that's what Oscar did."- Andrea Stella
Piastri and Norris made contact after the start of the Singapore Grand Prix last Sunday.
Over the team radio, Piastri suggested that his teammate should give the position back.
"Obviously Oscar made some statements while he was in the car, but that's the kind of character that we want to have from our drivers," Stella began after the race.
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Lando Norris side-by-side with Oscar Piastri at the start of the Singapore GP - Photo: Race Pictures
He continued: "They have to make their position very clear, that's what we ask them. At the same time we have to put things in perspective.
"The perspective of a driver that is in Formula 1 car with the intensity of it being the first lap, and the perspective that obviously [he] just saw Lando moving on to him, but we know that Lando in reality had a contact with Verstappen and always steered onto Oscar.
"So we will have good reviews, good conversations, and like after Canada, we'll come back stronger and even more united.
"I think in general, if you listen to Oscar's comments regardless of when he has a complete picture, it sounded like he was asking a team to act within the race."
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McLaren has the power to act
Earlier this year, the Woking-based team’s decision to ask their two drivers to swap positions at Monza sparked considerable discussion.
Stella explained that if they decide to do so, they can ask their drivers to revert positions.
"Well, obviously it's within the power and the rights of the team to act, should there be the case. So there's been an assessment of the people. We thought that there was no need to do so."
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"But like I said before, we do want, we do ask our drivers to make their position very clear. And that's what Oscar did.
"Then we made our assessment and we thought that the right course of action is the one that we took."
Norris and Piastri celebrating McLaren's constructors' title in Singapore - Photo: Race Pictures
Piastri turned the car off before Zak Brown's message
After the race, it seemed like the Australian driver switched off the McLaren CEO’s radio message before Brown could finish.
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Contrary to what it may have appeared to be during the live feed, GPblog understands that Piastri had already turned off his car before Brown began to speak.
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