Lando Norris has conceded he “let down the team” when colliding with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in the sprint race of Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix.
The papaya cars clashed on the last lap of the 20-lap contest, as Norris dove down the inside of Piastri in Turn 5, eventually making contact with the sister MCL40’s right-rear tyre, which sent both of them into a spin. Instead of finishing fourth and fifth, the Briton dropped down to eighth and the Australian retired.
Team principal Andrea Stella branded the incident as “not acceptable” and said there would be talks to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Asked if he was expecting more chats and how they had gone so far, Norris said: “No, it’s pretty straightforward.
“I can’t attempt what I did. I should never have attempted in the first place, even if the move was on. I’ve got to think of the team that I represent more than myself.
“It was a mistake on my part, and I let down the team. I’ve also apologised to all of them, I owe them all an apology, and I will do better next time.”
This marked a noticeable shift from the reigning world champion’s initial stance on the clash, as he stated on Saturday afternoon: “It was a big gap, so I went for it. I have the right to do that. The rest, we go review as a team.”
Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
“As good as we could achieve” on Sunday
Norris bounced back from his sprint setback with fourth place on Sunday, with a podium finish eluding him.
The McLaren driver was fifth until Kimi Antonelli, who was eight seconds up the road, opted for a second pitstop under the lap-39 virtual safety car.
Norris inherited fourth place, six seconds ahead of Antonelli, and was 13 seconds adrift of Lewis Hamilton, who was struggling on used soft tyres.
The 26-year-old caught the Ferrari in just 11 laps, but struggled to make a move stick and was overtaken by a resurgent Antonelli before he finally found a way past a defiant Hamilton.
Norris finished fourth, but the end of the race showed he couldn’t have matched the Silver Arrow’s new-tyre pace, as he ended up 16 seconds adrift on the finish line.
“The result was as good as we could achieve today,” Norris said. “I think I could have achieved it in a better way and at least put up a good fight with Kimi.
“Both me and Lewis obviously wanted to see who would brake later into [Turn] 1. He didn’t even brake into [Turn] 1, so this kind of meant I was also going off. I could have put up a better fight with Kimi in that case and could have fought for a podium.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
“So I could have done a better job in trying to achieve the result we had today, but I think he would have passed me no matter what. Fourth was the best we could do today, so I’m happy I achieved that and we got some good points.”
Still, this won’t overshadow McLaren’s step back in the pecking order. This is a third consecutive podiumless race for the team, after Norris won the Hungarian and Dutch grands prix back-to-back in the summer.
Asked if he was feeling better for Austin, Norris pessimistically replied: “No, not really. The car is not quick enough and it’s too difficult to drive. We’re a long way off, so…”
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