There is a proverb that pressure is a privilege, and that certainly is true for McLaren now.
Creating such a dominant car and having two closely matched drivers running at a high level gives you a huge opportunity to double the championship, but when the title rivals are fighting, it’s by no means a smooth road.
The highly impressive constructor’s championship success was sealed in Singapore, and although a quarter of the season has yet to progress, there was a risk of being overshadowed by a close moment between Randorris and Oscar Piastri, where the Australians questioned his team about their lack of action via radio.
“It wasn’t like a team, but certainly,” Piastri said he asked later after contacting them.
In reality, the barge is not the result of a deliberate move by Norris, but is also a by-product of Norris’ attempting to pass the championship leader, as well as getting into contact with Leahmax Barstappen’s car and leading the snap together the two McLarens.
The contact may have been light, but that was the result of an attack from Norris anyway.
“I think the start was good. The right side of the grid was good,” Norris said. “I think that was a good launch too, so I told myself not to be checked out from turn 1 to turn 2.
“It got bigger inside the Oscar. It was so close that it was still wet and dry, so it was so slippery. I just cut out the back of Max’s car and I think it just gave me a little fix.
“It’s good in terms of getting two positions. If I hadn’t gotten there, I probably wouldn’t have got them. It was too hard to pass, as we saw, and aggression and positive thinking paid off.”
Norris later revealed: “I hit Max, so I wasn’t offensive to my teammates.”
Piastri wasn’t that convinced at the time and wasn’t on his side of the garage, so some were surprised that Norris hadn’t been sent a radio message about the move. In both Austria and Hungary this year, Piastri was warned of attempts to overtake teammates who are deemed to be above acceptable levels.
However, in each case, the piastry is still the next car and may try to move again. On Sunday in Singapore, the charges can be argued that Norris will move forward and, aside from imposing a team order to give him the place, they can argue that they can wait for communication with Norris about the incident.
We’ll have to wait a little longer as the third and fourth finishes secured the constructor’s title and began a celebration that prevented the team from dealing with fallouts between drivers right away.
But when team principal Andrea Stella spoke, it didn’t stop it being the topic of the first conversation.
“I think the first lap situation is one of those situations that could happen if it’s a close race,” Stella said. “We review the situation with our drivers, for example, a good conversation like after Canada. This review, like we said at the time, gave us a stronger opportunity to come together as a team after returning after Canada.
“We will see if there is any learning that needs to be fine-tuned from the perspective of our approach, and I think this will lead to a good conversation.
“Obviously, Oscar has made some statements while he’s in the car, and that’s kind of the character we want to have from the driver. They have to be very clear about their position, and that’s what we ask them.
“At the same time, we have to put things in perspective. The driver’s perspective in the car in Faxham 1 is that its strength is the first lap.
The brawl between the two McLaren drivers continues to take place, but the fact remains. Both agree that others will do the same thing in the same position. James Sutton/Getty Images
Norris insists that “everyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing as me,” adding, “I don’t think you should be in Formula 1.”
Stella warned that such an approach could have two aspects, and that a more nuanced analysis would be required to keep both drivers sideways.
“Our reviews need to be very detailed and very analytical,” Stella expanded. “We need to take into consideration the perspectives of two drivers, and then we will see if we can follow the original interpretation or if there is something else to conclude.
“In terms of going to the gap, I think it’s a too rough approach. Let me say, we need to maintain a more sophisticated refinement and detail because there are so many factors you need to consider.
“We have to be accurate because we are at risk. Many risks are not just the championship points, but also the driver’s trust in how we operate as a team. This is even more fundamental than the points themselves.
Norris was sometimes recognized as defensive after the race, but also said that incidents that plunged out of the car needed to be analyzed. Piastri took the same stance, but was not drawn to solid opinions about the record. Both drivers show an understanding that there may be more contact.
The party feels wrong because Stella wants to protect the pair’s trust – Piastri – confirmed that they hold the full belief that the two drivers are treated equally.
“In the end, yes,” Piastri said. “There were obviously some difficult situations throughout the team, and we obviously talked about a lot.
“Can things get better at a certain point? Yes. Ultimately it’s a learning process for the whole team.
“I’m very pleased that the intention is very well meant if that makes sense. I’m not worried about it at all. Obviously there have been some tough situations this year. This is another situation.”
McLaren knows that with the back-to-back constructor championship in the bag, more focus will focus on how to handle two drivers. So far, the celebrations and praise of the work the team has done collectively should not be tempered, but the fact that there is a need for a story of drivers involved after the race where Max Verstappen has achieved further status underscores the success of Singapore’s success wanes against the backdrop of the driver’s fight.
