McLaren send clear warning to Lando Norris after he and Oscar Piastri 'crossed a line'
On-track fighting between two McLarens will not be tolerated, the team principal has confirmed, and both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been warned ahead of Singapore.
McLaren Formula 1 team principal Andrea Stella has handed his two race stars a warning ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. Last time out at Monza, the two McLarens, driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, came into contact at the first chicane after the rookie Australian exited the pits.
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Piastri's front-right tyre grazed his teammate's side pods but luckily for McLaren, neither car sustained major damage and both escaped punishment from the stewards. After the race, Stella branded the incident as “unacceptable” and has now set the rules ahead of Singapore.
"My role is to give them principals and a clear perimeter within which they can race," Stella told media. "It is what we want to see, like with the Ferraris, I am sure on the pit wall, they were nervous, but it was a good spectacle, we want to see racing.
"But our role is to give the drivers a clear perimeter within which the racing should happen, in terms of how you stay within the perimeter. It is not for us to say because we are not the drivers, in terms of having the skill set to say: 'The tires are a bit cold, maybe I need to take more margin.'
"It is not for me to say, I am not in the car and even if I was, I would not have been any safer. They both just need to appreciate that, and there is no way that the line should be crossed."
Piastri has enjoyed a solid debut season in F1, picking up 36 points. His best finish of the 2023 campaign so far came in the Sprint race in Spa, where he finished second behind three-peat-chasing F1 world champion, Max Verstappen. On the Sunday, however, his best result was fourth at Silverstone.
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Despite still learning the ropes, Piastri has shown good pace to challenge some of the frontrunners, including teammate Norris, which may have contributed toward the clash of the two teammates. Norris, meanwhile, has recorded better results; including back-to-back second-place finishes at the British and Hungarian Grands Prix.
"I don't want to just be close to Lando," Piastri said in July. "Of course, I want to try and beat him. It's not, not an easy task. I think we all know how good Lando is, but, I don't want to just settle there. It's been nice to be so close, but until you're beating your teammate, you're always going to feel like there's more to come."
