Was the Singapore GP a turning point between Norris and Piastri?

Ben McCarthy

Was the Singapore GP a turning point between Norris and Piastri?  image

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Despite not winning the race, Sunday celebrated McLaren and their remarkable achievement of winning the constructors' championship with a quarter of the season remaining. 

Yet more pivotally, was there a change in dynamic between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the current top two chargers in the drivers' standings?

Battling it out for third place on the first lap, Norris momentarily clipped the rear-end of Verstappen's Red Bull before making contact with his Papaya teammate, for whom he has enjoyed a relatively incident-free championship battle with, thus far. 

However, throughout the first stint Piastri was making his feelings known and took issue with the manner in which Norris seized the position, which was the first time we have had either McLaren driver vocally annoyed by another's move, this year. 

In the end, after McLaren internally reviewed the incident, no action was taken and they took the exact view that the stewards had, that it was a typical first lap incident. 

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Post-race, after being crowned champions again, the McLaren team principal noted the action that the team will take. He told various media, including theguardian.com: "We will form a common opinion and we will see whether it confirms our initial interpretation, or if there is something else that we should compute.

"We need to be accurate because there is a lot at stake, not only the championship points but the trust of our drivers and the way we operate as a team."

The gap between the two papaya cars, at the top of the drivers' championship, is now just 22 points and with the team's priority now sealed, questions will be asked of whether a different stance is taken about their two drivers racing. 

The squad have been very meticulous in managing the battle between their drivers and have unusually sought to intervene in moments of misfortune (for example, asking Piastri to relinquish a position to Norris after his slow pitstop at the Italian Grand Prix).

The absence of a public falling-out between both drivers, which is commonplace in intra-team championship fights, illustrates just how much of a focus this has been by the Woking team's hierarchy. 

However, both McLaren cars also face the growing threat of Max Verstappen, who sits just 63 points behind Piastri with six races (and three sprints) remaining. 

The Dutch driver has defeated both McLaren drivers in each of the last three races, including at a Singapore track in which they were swept away by Norris just a year beforehand. 

Maybe, just maybe, the complexion is only deepened and the ruling papaya colours may turn Dutch orange by the time of Abu Dhabi. 

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Ben McCarthy

Ben McCarthy is a freelance sports journalist, commentator and broadcaster. Having specialised his focus on football and Formula One, he has striven to share and celebrate the successes of both mainstream and local teams and athletes. Thanks to his work at the Colchester Gazette, Hospital Radio Chelmsford, BBC Essex and National League TV, he has established an appreciation for the modern-day rigours of sports journalism and broadcasting.