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Lando Norris claims that "any driver on the starting lineup" would have made the move that sparked fresh controversy between himself and fellow driver the Australian during the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Briton collided with Piastri on the exit of turn three at Marina Bay after a bump with the leading car caused him to slide.

This incident could potentially disrupt the well-managed team unity that McLaren has successfully preserved between both competitors through thoughtful management.

Entering the event, the British driver was behind Piastri by a significant margin in the championship standings, and narrowed that gap by only a small amount after taking the final podium spot behind the Mercedes driver and the Red Bull star, with Piastri close behind in P4.

Driver Perspectives

Norris insisted he had acted appropriately in passing his teammate.

"Anyone on the grid would have done what I did," he stated. "If you criticize me for going for a big opportunity, you don't belong in Formula 1.

"I was a bit too close to Verstappen, but that's racing. Nothing serious happened, I'm certain I would have ended up ahead of Oscar anyway because he had the dirty part of the circuit on the outer line.

"Naturally I need to analyze it and the worst scenario I want is contact with my racing partner. I am the one who must avoid such situations. I would put myself at risk just as much if similar things happened.

"I will examine it but the FIA clearly thought it was acceptable and the team did, as well."

The driver rejected he had been too forceful with Piastri. "I touched Max," he explained, "so I wasn't forceful with my teammate."

McLaren's Response

Piastri expressed unhappiness about the incident. He communicated over the in-car communication that the team's decision to do nothing about it was "unjust."

Post-event, he was circumspect, stating he needed to watch the incident before commenting further.

"The primary issue is both vehicles coming together," he noted. "It's never what we desire, so I'll analyze it in greater detail."

Piastri has previously been the competitor to lose out in at least two controversial situations this season.

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was the leading McLaren driver early in the race but his teammate was allowed to use a different strategy to overtake his partner, a choice that rival teams have questioned.

During the Italian Grand Prix, the Australian was ordered to let Norris back past for second place after the Briton was delayed by a slow pit stop. Piastri complained that he believed there had been an understanding that a delayed service was just normal competition that had to be tolerated, but complied anyway.

Internally, he was not pleased about that circumstance, and he and the squad conducted talks to resolve it.

But questioned after Sunday's race whether he had worries that his teammate might be receiving preferential treatment, Piastri said: "No."

Did he believe the squad had been fair all season?

"In the end, yes," Piastri stated. "Could things have been improved at specific moments? Yes, but ultimately it's a developmental journey with the whole squad and I'm very happy that the aims are very well meaning, if that is understandable."

Team Leadership

McLaren boss the Italian commented: "We will conduct detailed analyses, productive conversations and, like after Canada, we'll come back more resilient and more cohesive."

The team principal explained that although the squad had reviewed the incident in its direct consequence, "this contact is, in reality, a consequence of different circumstances that happened between Norris and the Red Bull driver."

He continued: "Piastri made some comments while he was in the car but that's the kind of attitude that we expect from our drivers. They have to make their position clear, that's what we require of them.

"Our analysis needs to be very detailed, very analytical, it needs to take into account the viewpoint of our both competitors, and then we will develop a shared understanding upon which we will determine whether we can simply validate our initial interpretation or there's something else that we should decide.

"Whenever we start our conversations with the drivers, we always recall, as a premise: 'This is difficult'.

"Because this is the single area in which, when you race together, in fact you can't have exactly the same interest for the both competitors, because they seek to achieve their individual aspirations. This is a foundational principle of the approach we take at the team.

"We need to be accurate, because there's much at stake. That's not just the championship points, but it's additionally the confidence of our competitors in the manner we function as a squad, and this is, perhaps, more fundamental than the championship standings."

McLaren's Success

The controversy deflected attention from the British team winning the team title for the second consecutive year.

It is the team's 10th constructors' title, placing them ahead of their rivals in the all-time list into runner-up position behind record-holders Ferrari, who have claimed it on sixteen occasions since the championship's inception in 1958.

Their victory represents one of the earliest times a team has done this. It equals Red Bull's feat in securing the title with six races to go in 2023, although that was a 22-race season compared with 24 this year.

The team's lead has reduced as the championship enters its concluding phase. That is partly because to the nature of the latest tracks not favoring its strengths, and also because the team turned off the upgrade process earlier, while their rivals still have new parts arriving to their vehicles.

That decision by the team was based on the reality that they were experiencing reduced benefits in improving this vehicle, common when a design has such an edge at the start of a championship, and that they wanted to ensure they were ready for the following season.

The British driver, though, is well aware of the magnitude of his squad's accomplishment, and the remarkable turnaround they have demonstrated under Stella and CEO Zak Brown from recent history, when they began the 2023 season near the rear of the grid.

"A second championship is a wonderful achievement," Norris said. "If you consider where we were three years ago, we have surpassed every team in terms of progress in a period when it is more challenging to achieve with more restrictions and reduced testing.

"At a time when it should be harder than before to excel, that's precisely what the squad has done and provided us, clearly, the best car on the grid.

"That's always a very nice thing to mention. It always brings satisfaction on your expression. But we've also excelled as a team in terms of competitors, between Piastri and myself {pushing each other