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The British driver states that "every competitor on the starting lineup" would have attempted the maneuver that caused fresh controversy between Norris and his McLaren teammate the Australian during the Singapore Grand Prix.

Norris made contact with Piastri on the corner exit of turn three at the Singapore circuit after contact with Max Verstappen's Red Bull caused him to slide.

This incident threatens to undermine the carefully maintained team unity that the British team has managed to maintain between both competitors through strategic leadership.

Entering the event, the British driver was behind his teammate by 25 points in the points table, and reduced that gap by only a small amount after taking the final podium spot behind the Mercedes driver and Verstappen, with Piastri following in P4.

Driver Perspectives

The Briton maintained he had acted appropriately in overtaking Piastri.

"Every driver 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 F1.

"My car was slightly too close to Verstappen, but that's racing. No major incident occurred, I'm confident I would have ended up ahead of Oscar anyway because he had the less favorable part of the track on the outside.

"Of course I need to review it and the worst scenario I want is contact with my racing partner. I am the one who can't afford such situations. I would endanger my position just as much if that occurred.

"I'll review it but the governing body obviously thought it was fine and the team did, too."

Norris denied he had been too forceful with his teammate. "I touched Max," he explained, "meaning I wasn't forceful with my racing partner."

Team Dynamics

Piastri expressed unhappiness about the incident. He communicated over the in-car communication that the squad's choice to do nothing about it was "not fair."

Post-event, he was circumspect, saying he needed to watch the incident before making additional statements.

"The primary issue is two cars coming together," he commented. "It's never what we desire, so I'll examine it in more depth."

The Australian has previously been the driver to lose out in no fewer than 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 alternative approach to beat his teammate, a decision that rival teams have questioned.

During the Italian Grand Prix, Piastri was instructed to let Norris back past for second place after the British driver was delayed by a slow pit stop. He complained that he believed there had been an agreement that a delayed service was just normal competition that had to be accepted, but complied regardless.

Internally, he was not pleased about that circumstance, and he and the team conducted talks to address the matter.

But questioned after Sunday's race whether he had worries that Norris might be receiving preferential treatment, the Australian responded: "None."

Was he convinced the team had been equitable throughout the championship?

"In the end, yes," Piastri said. "Might situations have been better at certain points? Certainly, but finally it's a learning process with the entire team and I'm extremely happy that the aims are positive, if that makes sense."

Team Leadership

McLaren boss Andrea Stella said: "We'll have thorough reviews, productive conversations and, like after Canada, we'll return stronger and more cohesive."

The team principal stated that although the squad had analyzed the incident in its immediate aftermath, "the collision is, actually, a result of different circumstances that occurred between Lando and the Red Bull driver."

He continued: "Piastri made some statements while he was in the cockpit but that's the kind of attitude that we want from our competitors. They have to express their views, that's what we require of them.

"The team's review needs to be extremely thorough, highly methodical, it needs to take into account the perspective of our two drivers, and then we will develop a shared understanding based on 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 competitors, we always recall, as a premise: 'This is difficult'.

"Because this is the single area in which, when you compete as teammates, in fact you cannot maintain exactly the same interest for the both competitors, because they seek to achieve their individual aspirations. This is a foundational principle of the way we race at McLaren.

"We need to be accurate, because there's much at risk. That's not only the championship points, but it's also the confidence of our drivers in the way we operate as a team, and this is, if anything, more fundamental than the championship standings."

McLaren's Success

The controversy drew focus from McLaren winning the team title for the second consecutive year.

It is McLaren's tenth team championship, placing them ahead of Williams in the all-time list into runner-up position after record-holders the Italian team, who have claimed it 16 times since the competition began in the late fifties.

This achievement represents one of the quickest instances a squad has done this. It matches their rival's achievement in winning with six races to go in last season, although that was a shorter championship compared with 24 this season.

The team's lead has diminished as the season enters its final stages. That is due in part to the nature of the latest tracks not suiting its strengths, and partly because the team ceased the upgrade process earlier, while their rivals still have new parts coming to their vehicles.

This choice by the team was based on the reality that they were experiencing diminishing returns in developing this vehicle, typical when a design has such an advantage at the beginning of a season, and that they wanted to make certain they were ready for next year.

The British driver, however, is well aware of the magnitude of his team's achievement, and the remarkable turnaround they have demonstrated under Stella and chief executive officer their leader from recent history, when they began the 2023 season close to the rear of the grid.

"Another title is a wonderful achievement," he said. "If you consider where we were three years ago, we have surpassed every squad in terms of development in a time when it is harder to do so with more restrictions and less wind tunnel time.

"At a time when it should be more difficult than before to dominate, that's precisely what the team has done and given us, clearly, the best car on the starting lineup.

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