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The British driver asserts that "any driver on the starting lineup" would have made the move that sparked renewed tension between himself and fellow driver Oscar Piastri during the recent race.

Norris made contact with his teammate on the exit of turn three at Marina Bay after a bump with the leading car caused him to slide.

The collision threatens to disrupt the carefully maintained harmony that McLaren has successfully preserved between both competitors through strategic leadership.

Before the race, the British driver was behind his teammate by 25 points in the championship standings, and reduced that gap by only a small amount after finishing third behind winner George Russell and the Red Bull star, with Piastri close behind in P4.

Racing Opinions

Norris insisted he had done nothing wrong in passing Piastri.

"Every driver on the grid would have done what I did," he commented. "If you criticize me for taking a big opportunity, you shouldn't be in F1.

"I was a bit too close to Verstappen, but that's racing. Nothing serious happened, I'm confident I would have finished in front of Oscar regardless because he had the less favorable part of the track on the outer line.

"Naturally I need to analyze it and the worst scenario I want is collision 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 will examine it but the FIA clearly thought it was fine and the team did, too."

Norris denied he had been too forceful with Piastri. "I made contact with Max," he explained, "meaning I wasn't aggressive with my teammate."

McLaren's Response

The Australian showed unhappiness about the collision. He communicated over the team radio that the squad's choice to take no action about it was "not fair."

Post-event, he was more measured, saying he needed to review the incident before making additional statements.

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

The Australian has already been the competitor to suffer in no fewer than multiple debatable incidents this season.

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was the team's frontrunner initially but his teammate was allowed to use a different strategy to beat his teammate, a decision that rival teams have scrutinized.

During the Italian Grand Prix, the Australian was instructed to allow his teammate through for P2 after the British driver was delayed by a slow pit stop. Piastri complained that he thought there had been an understanding that a delayed service was just part of racing that had to be tolerated, but acquiesced regardless.

Behind the scenes, he was not pleased about that circumstance, and he and the squad held discussions to resolve it.

But when asked after Sunday's race whether he had any concerns that his teammate might be getting favoritism, the Australian responded: "None."

Was he convinced the squad had been fair throughout the championship?

"Ultimately, affirmative," Piastri said. "Could things have been better at certain points? Yes, but ultimately it's a developmental journey with the entire team and I'm very happy that the intentions are positive, if that makes sense."

Management Perspective

Team principal Andrea Stella commented: "We will conduct detailed analyses, productive conversations and, similar to post-Canada, we'll return stronger and more cohesive."

Stella explained that although the team had analyzed the incident in its direct consequence, "the collision is, actually, a result of another racing situation that happened between Norris and the Red Bull driver."

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

"Our analysis needs to be extremely thorough, very analytical, it needs to consider the perspective of our both competitors, and then we will develop a shared understanding upon which we will determine whether we can just confirm our first assessment or there's something else that we should decide.

"Every time we begin our discussions with the drivers, we always remind ourselves, as a premise: 'This is difficult'.

"Since this is the single area in which, when you compete as teammates, actually you can't have exactly the same interest for the two drivers, because they want to pursue their personal goals. This is a foundational principle of the approach we take at the team.

"We must remain precise, because there's a lot at stake. That's not just the valuable points, but it's also the trust of our drivers in the way we operate as a team, and this is, if anything, more fundamental than the points themselves."

Championship Achievement

The controversy deflected attention from the British team securing the team title for the second year running.

It is McLaren's 10th constructors' title, moving them above Williams in the historical rankings into second place after leaders Ferrari, who have claimed it 16 times since the competition began in 1958.

Their victory represents one of the quickest instances a squad has done this. It matches their rival's achievement in securing the title with multiple events remaining in 2023, although that was a shorter championship compared with twenty-four this season.

McLaren's advantage has reduced as the championship heads into its final stages. That is partly because to the nature of the latest tracks not favoring its capabilities, and partly because the team turned off the upgrade process some time ago, while their rivals still have new parts arriving to their cars.

This choice by the team was rooted in the reality that they were seeing reduced benefits in improving this vehicle, common when a design has such an advantage at the start of a championship, and that they wanted to ensure they were ready for next year.

Norris, though, is fully conscious of the magnitude of his squad's accomplishment, and the remarkable turnaround they have demonstrated under their team principal and CEO Zak Brown from recent history, when they started the 2023 season near the back of the grid.

"A second championship is a great thing," he commented. "If you consider where we were three years ago, we have outperformed every squad in terms of progress in a time when it is more challenging to achieve with more restrictions and less wind tunnel time.

"In an era 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 pleasing aspect to say. It always puts a smile on your expression. But we've additionally performed very well as a team in terms of competitors, between Piastri and myself {pushing each other