McLaren confirms US Grand Prix interference as Lando Norris handicapped vs Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri made contact on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix, with the McLaren driver now facing what he called ‘repercussions’ at the US Grand Prix

McLaren boss Zak Brown has revealed the “repercussions” experienced by Lando Norris at the United States Grand Prix this weekend, following his clash with team-mate Oscar Piastri in Singapore. The two championship contenders made contact on the opening lap of that race, leaving Piastri fuming as the Briton swept past.

Race officials deemed the incident acceptable and McLaren rejected the Australian’s plea for the drivers to switch positions, allowing Norris to cross the line first and chip away at Piastri’s title advantage. However, he admitted before this weekend’s racing in Austin that he would face the “repercussions” of that collision.

“The team held me accountable for what happened, which I think is fair,” said Norris. “Then we made progress from there on understanding what the repercussions were for myself, to avoid anything happening worse than what did.”

Following that incident in Singapore, McLaren chief executive Brown was eager to downplay the drama and branded it a “racing incident”. He maintained that stance when quizzed about it during Sky Sports’ coverage of Friday practice in Austin, but hinted that Norris is indeed facing consequences for triggering that contact with his team-mate in the shape of a “marginal” penalty.

The American said: “We review every race. Lando and Oscar had a bit of a touch there. The start of a Formula 1 race is pretty manic and it was clearly not intentional. But we don’t want our cars touching. We laid out how we want to go racing at the start of the year and so there is a little bit of a sporting repercussion in lieu of what happened.

“We move forward, the drivers are comfortable and they are free to race. It’s marginal, it’s consistent with what happened which was a racing incident at the end of the day, at the start of a Grand Prix on a track which was somewhat damp. It wasn’t intentional. But [the handicap] is very marginal, it probably won’t be noticed.

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“Lando and and Oscar know what it is, which is what’s most important. Of course, we want to be transparent with our fans. We’re doing it the hard way, trying to let both guys race for the championship. The easy way out would be to have a one-two as some teams do, but that’s not how McLaren want to go racing.”

Despite whatever penalty he’s facing, Norris topped the timesheets in the sole practice session on this Sprint weekend in Texas. Piastri finished third fastest, with the two McLarens surprisingly separated by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, who crossed the line last in that hour of running yet delivered a stunning qualifying simulation lap.

Just 22 points separate Piastri and Norris heading into this weekend’s two races in Texas, first the Sprint on Saturday 24 hours before the main Grand Prix. Max Verstappen, third in the championship, is 63 points off the top but McLaren continue to insist they see the Dutchman as a threat.