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The British driver asserts that "any driver on the starting lineup" would have attempted the maneuver that sparked fresh controversy between himself and fellow driver the Australian during the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Briton collided with his teammate on the exit of turn three at Marina Bay after contact with the leading car sent his car sideways.

This incident threatens to undermine the carefully maintained harmony that the British team has successfully preserved between their two drivers through strategic leadership.

Before the race, the British driver was behind Piastri by 25 points in the championship standings, and reduced that gap by only three points after finishing third behind winner George Russell and Verstappen, with his teammate close behind in fourth position.

Racing Opinions

The Briton maintained he had done nothing wrong in passing his teammate.

"Every driver on the starting lineup would have done what I did," he stated. "Should you fault me for taking a big opportunity, you don't belong in F1.

"I was slightly too close to Verstappen, but that's competition. Nothing serious happened, I'm confident I would have finished in front 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 teammate. I am the one who must avoid any incidents. I would put myself at risk just as much if similar things happened.

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

The driver rejected he had been too forceful with his teammate. "I made contact with Max," he said, "meaning I wasn't aggressive with my racing partner."

Team Dynamics

The Australian showed displeasure about the collision. He said over the team radio that the team's decision to do nothing about it was "not fair."

After the race, he was more measured, stating he needed to review the incident before commenting further.

"The primary issue is both vehicles coming together," he commented. "That's never what we want, so I'll examine it in greater detail."

The Australian has already been the driver to lose out in at least two controversial situations this year.

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was the leading McLaren driver initially but Norris was allowed to use a different strategy 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 P2 after the British driver was held up by a slow pit stop. He expressed concern that he thought there had been an understanding that a slow pit stop was just normal competition that had to be accepted, but complied regardless.

Behind the scenes, he was unhappy about that circumstance, and he and the team conducted talks to address the matter.

But questioned after the Singapore Grand Prix whether he had any concerns that Norris might be receiving preferential treatment, Piastri said: "None."

Was he convinced the squad had been fair all season?

"Ultimately, yes," he said. "Could things have been improved 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."

Management Perspective

Team principal the Italian commented: "We will conduct thorough reviews, productive conversations and, like after Canada, we'll return more resilient and even more united."

Stella stated that although the squad had analyzed the incident in its immediate aftermath, "the collision is, actually, a result of another racing situation that occurred between Lando and Verstappen."

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

"Our analysis needs to be very detailed, highly methodical, it needs to consider the perspective of our two drivers, and then we will form a shared understanding based on which we will determine whether we can simply validate our first assessment or there's additional factors that we should conclude.

"Whenever we start our discussions with the competitors, we always recall, as a premise: 'This is challenging'.

"Because this is the only matter in which, when you race together, 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 approach we take at the team.

"We must remain precise, because there's much at risk. That's not just the valuable points, but it's additionally the confidence of our drivers in the manner we function as a team, and this is, perhaps, more fundamental than the points themselves."

McLaren's Success

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

It is McLaren's 10th constructors' title, placing them above their rivals in the historical rankings into runner-up position after record-holders Ferrari, who have won it 16 times since the championship's inception in 1958.

Their victory represents one of the quickest instances a squad has done this. It equals their rival's achievement in winning with multiple events remaining in last season, although that was a 22-race season compared with twenty-four this year.

The team's lead has reduced as the championship heads into its concluding phase. That is due in part to the characteristics of the latest tracks not suiting its strengths, and also because McLaren ceased the development program some time ago, while their rivals still have new parts coming to their vehicles.

This choice by the team was based on the fact that they were seeing reduced benefits in improving this vehicle, common when a concept has such an edge at the beginning of a championship, and that they wanted to make certain they were ready for next year.

Norris, though, is fully conscious of the magnitude of his team's achievement, and the remarkable turnaround they have demonstrated under their team principal and chief executive officer their leader from recent history, when they started the 2023 season close to the rear of the field.

"A second championship is a wonderful achievement," Norris commented. "Looking at where we were three years ago, we have surpassed every team in terms of progress in a time when it is harder to achieve with increased limitations and less wind tunnel time.

"In an era when it should be harder than before to dominate, that's exactly what the team has done and provided us, by a significant margin, the fastest vehicle on the starting lineup.

"It's consistently a pleasing aspect to say. It always puts a smile on your face. But we've also excelled as a squad in terms of competitors, between Piastri and myself {pushing each other