Norris and Piastri celebrating McLaren's constructors' title in Singapore - Photo: Race Pictures

Piastri - Norris rift: 'Nicey, nicey McLaren' did it to themselves!

15:31, 10 Oct

byNorberto Mujica

McLaren's attempts to ensure their drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris get a fair shake in their championship run created the Singapore GP conflict between the two, Ted Kravitz has said.

I think that's part of them creating these problems for themselves in the way that they want to be nicey-nicey.

- Ted Kravitz

On lap 1 in Singapore, Norris barged his way into P3, hitting his teammate's car in the process, which Piastri thought was enough for the McLaren pit wall to intervene and reinstate the order to what it was prior to the Briton's overtake manoeuvre.

Nevertheless the call never came in, as McLaren saw it all as a racing incident, which ignited the Australian driver's ire.

On the F1 Show podcast, the British reporter wondered: "Is Oscar Piastri the kind of person who will, who will take revenge in a future race and sort of knock Lando into the wall and say, well, boff, try that for your luck?"

norris-piastri-collision-mclaren-singapore-gp-f1

Lando Norris collided with Oscar Piastri at the start of the Singapore GP. Photo: RacePictures.

Looking back on McLaren's history, to the days of Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, going through the Prost and Senna years, all the way to the Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard era's, Kravitz believes the Woking-based outfit's new racing approach has played a role in creating this intrateam issue.

The British reported is of the idea that under Ron Dennis' leadership this situation would've been avoided.

He said: "Yes, they [Dennis' McLaren] would have had the rules and that 'please don't knock into each other,' but they certainly wouldn't have had any of these 'let's try and make it fair to each other by giving places back and we're gonna have a detailed discussion about that.'

"[It] just wouldn't have happened in the old McLaren. And so in trying to be fairer in a new McLaren, the new shall we call it the warm and cozy McLaren, not the kind of you know rather more every driver for himself, old school Ron Dennis McLaren, if you want to put it that way.

"Then I think that's part of them creating these problems for themselves in the way that they want to be nicey-nicey under the new McLaren," he concluded.

Oscar Piastri on the grid ahead of the Singapore GP - Photo: Race Pictures

McLaren's papaya rules muddle up the title fight

Whereas Piastri was forced to give way to Norris in Monza, apparently going against the pre-established parameter of a slow stop being considered a natural part of racing, Norris was allowed to keep the position he gained on Piastri by making contact with the Australian driver, also seemingly going against what is understood to be one of the pilars in the so-called papaya rules.

Now Verstappen is fired up by the rocket Laurent Mekies and co., have been able to turn the RB21 into, and the gap between both McLaren drivers in the championship stands at not more than 22 points, with Verstappen a further 41 points behind the runner up Norris.

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