Piastri calls Norris overtake 'unjust' as George Russell wins the race
Friction between championship competitors Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri reached a new high as their McLaren team secured the constructors' championship at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Norris slid into Piastri while overtaking at the first corner at the commencement of the race, leading the Australian to state it was "unjust" the team did not instruct them to reverse positions.
Race Drama Overshadows Team Celebration
The controversial moment that is likely to cause issues at McLaren occurred when Norris dived down the inside of Piastri after making a good start from fifth on the grid.
Norris was surprised by Verstappen slowing more than he expected in the apex of Turn Three.
Norris touched the Red Bull, damaging the McLaren's front wing endplate, and that bounced him sideways into Piastri, whose pace was checked, enabling 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."
Shortly afterwards, he continued: "Are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?"
His engineer responded that the team were "looking at it", before coming back to tell Piastri that they would take "no action" in the race because "Norris needed to evade Verstappen" and that they would "analyze it afterwards".
Title Race Impact
- Piastri's points advantage over Norris was reduced to twenty-two points with half a dozen events remaining
- Verstappen has also gained ground and is sixty-three points behind of the championship lead
- McLaren secured their second consecutive constructors' title
Race Summary
George Russell dominated the race at the lead on his way to a commanding victory, very much in the manner of his triumph in Canada back in June.
Verstappen chose to start the race on soft tyres rather than the mediums on most other cars in the leading group, but the strategy did not prove successful and Russell easily held 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 minor adjustment but nothing more than that. It was hard but fair competition." - Lando Norris
Midfield Battle
Mercedes' newcomer Kimi Antonelli took P5, overtaking Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on lap 54 as the Ferrari faded, and then holding off Lewis Hamilton in the final stages.
Fernando Alonso delivered a strong performance to take eighth as the best midfield runner.
The Spaniard and Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar fought a brief battle in the opening stages, Alonso passing Hadjar into the initial turn to take eighth, before the driver from France got him back later in the lap, only for Alonso to pass again on the third circuit.
