Parked up against the pit wall, with a damaged car and dented moment in his quest for the world championship, Lando Norris knew that he had broken the golden rule in motor sport; do not collide with your teammate.
During June's Canadian Grand Prix, he was caught out by his Australian teammate running out of battery, on the start/finish straight, as he placed his car in an impossible place to make a move and subsequently hit his teammate, before making a series of taps against the concrete wall.
But his McLaren team were smart enough to know that something like this was bound to happen. Its two drivers are fighting for their first world championship and are locked in this battle week after gruelling week.
Piastri and Norris come together in Canada! 😱
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 15, 2025
Here's the collision between the two McLarens 💥#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/sKo3GRQ63Q
Hence, when Norris and Piastri did collide, it was managed internally and, without question, Norris would have been reminded of how to go racing.
In a way, the collision was as low-profile as it could have been. They were battling for fourth and fifth, so the acrimony of losing a win, let alone a podium, was not felt. But what if this happens again?
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Zak Brown, the team’s CEO, anticipates another collision between his two drivers. That may sound like a loss of confidence in his driver pairing, but it is instead all part of their wider management, that seeks to limit any divisions forming.
Considering that it appeared, in public, like nothing changed in the wake of the Canadian crash, McLaren have demonstrated that what is behind, should be left there. They are not interested in picking sides, as the team’s winning objectives are still the primary one.
It is a constructor that realised the damage that can be done from a divisive pairing. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s relationship broke down spectacularly, in 1989, and would hardly speak to each other for the remainder of that season.
And in 2007, the animosity between a rookie Lewis Hamilton and the double world champion of Fernando Alonso threatened to split the constructor in half, in the wake of the ‘Spygate’ scandal that risked the team’s place in the sport.
Championship leader, Oscar Piastri
The Woking-based team have endured enough hardship from these experiences, but also in the depths of their competitiveness since, to know that risking their harmony and trajectory is an indelible act of self-treachery, that will not be worth it.
As Brown told BBC Sport: “I don’t think they’ll properly fall out because of the communication, trust and respect we all have, and they have for each other. We’re very fortunate to have the two personalities that we have.”
Ultimately, the two have not collided for a second time, yet. Although Piastri came very close to hitting Norris when the pair duelled for victory during the Austrian and Hungarian rounds.
But the harmony that has been built has been a cornerstone of the pair’s respect for one another, it survived one collision, so surely McLaren will perfectly manage another one, right?
Formula 1 news and related links
Red Bull supremo says Oscar Piastri is 'more consistent' than Lando Norris
Hamilton, Senna, Prost: who has won an F1 drivers' title for McLaren?