McLaren boss Andrea Stella has warned Lando Norris and Oscar Piastre after the two teammates' collision in the Singapore Grand Prix sprint. He said he would not accept behaviour that puts a driver's personal ego ahead of the team's interests.
Norris attacked Piastre for fourth place on the final lap, but the two cars touched and spun. The Briton finished eighth and Piastre did not make it to the final. McLaren thus scored just one point in the constructors' championship instead of nine.
“It is unacceptable for two of the team's cars to meet on the track“, said Stella. He said it was a fundamental principle of the way McLaren competed. He discussed the incident with both drivers after the incident.
“There is no ego, no one person is bigger than the interest of the McLaren team in Formula 1“, Stella told Sky Sports. He added that Norris and Piastre had been reminded of the team's priority, but in the sprint this principle was not respected.
Stewards did not penalise Norris
The stewards did not penalise Norris for causing the collision. In their decision, they indicated that both drivers contributed to the incident.
Norris said he had expected Piastre to give him more space. The Briton had previously defended his manoeuvre as a normal overtaking attempt, but after the sprint he told Italian broadcaster Sky that he was "crushed" by what had happened. Piastre said he was surprised by his teammate's attack.
The incident added to a difficult weekend for McLaren. In qualifying, Norris took fifth place, while Piastre remained seventh. After the sprint, the team's attention is focused on Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, where the two drivers will have to avoid a new internal conflict and protect the team's interests.
Sources: bta.bg