McLaren seal title as Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri tensions boil over

McLaren clinched the 2025 Constructors’ Championship in Singapore, but the milestone was clouded by an explosive first-lap clash between title rivals and teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The pair made contact as Norris lunged down the inside of his championship-leading teammate, triggering a stream of angry radio messages from the Australian.

“Yeah, I mean that wasn’t very team-like, but sure,” Piastri snapped. Moments later he added: “So are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way, or what’s the go-to there?” When told no action would be taken by the stewards or the team, he fumed: “That is not fair. If he has to avoid another crash by crashing into his teammate, then that’s a p***-poor job of avoiding.”

Norris, who also tapped the back of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in the same sequence, shrugged off the criticism. “Well, I hit Max, so it wasn’t aggressive on my teammate,” he smiled. “Anyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing,” he insisted.

“If you fault me for putting my car in a big gap, then you shouldn’t be in Formula 1. The last thing I want is to make contact with my teammate, I’m the one that can’t afford anything compared to him. The FIA thought it was fine, and the team did too, so that’s it.”

Piastri’s frustration was obvious after the race. When Zak Brown radioed to congratulate him - “Oscar, back-to-back champions. Tough race. Thank you for uh…” - the driver abruptly cut the transmission. He was later seen being ushered aside by McLaren’s press officer before facing journalists.

Asked if the pair still raced fairly, Piastri hesitated. “Umm, yes, I think we do,” he said after a pause. “I don’t think there was any intention of contact, but there was - I need to look at the replay and see exactly what happened.”

Pressed on whether team rules might now change, he replied: “I need to look at the replay before I say any comments.” Team principal Andrea Stella admitted McLaren’s “papaya rules” evolve from race to race as the title fight tightens. “We want our drivers to freely express their opinions on the radio,” he said. “But in this case, we saw no reason to intervene.”