Stella calls Norris-Piastri sprint collision 'simply not acceptable' as McLaren vows internal talks

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri collided on the final lap of the Singapore Grand Prix sprint on Saturday, leaving McLaren team principal Andrea Stella furious after both cars spun and Piastri was eliminated from the race with severe rear damage to his MCL40.

Norris made a lunge on the inside of Turn 5 in wet conditions during the 20-lap sprint, attempted to back out of a closing gap but made contact with Piastri’s right-rear corner. The impact sent both drivers into spins, with Piastri’s race ending on the spot and Norris recovering to finish eighth. The stewards summoned both drivers but opted against further action, concluding that “neither driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for the collision.”

For McLaren, the incident carried a steep practical cost: the team was forced to replace Piastri’s gearbox and carry out extensive repairs ahead of the main race weekend, while losing valuable points in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

“Seeing two McLarens making contact like that is simply not acceptable,” Stella said. “This is something we will discuss with our drivers, we will do it in private, we will reiterate that team interest is far bigger than any of us. There’s no ego, there’s no person that is bigger than the interest of the McLaren Formula 1 team.”

The clash is the latest in a series of on-track incidents between the two teammates in 2025, which had already prompted McLaren to tighten its internal rules of engagement — widely referred to as the Papaya Rules.

Piastri confirmed that Norris had apologised to him and the team, and chose measured words when speaking to the media. “The biggest thing obviously is we just can’t have that happen in terms of the points and also the workload and money,” the Australian said. “It just wasn’t a situation that needed to happen, really. So, Lando apologised and we moved on. Unfortunately, it’s not our first coming together, but I think we’re both very good at saying sorry when we need to and moving on, and I think that’s what makes us strong as a team.”

Norris echoed the stewards’ view that both drivers shared responsibility. “No one’s very happy. I’m not happy. Oscar wasn’t happy,” he said. “None of us wanted to go that way. There were things both of us could have done better. And yeah, we spoke about it and we moved on.”

When Piastri was pressed on the stewards’ finding that he too contributed to the incident, he was characteristically pragmatic: “I don’t think there was anything massively out of line, but at the same time it’s not very smart to try and get each other penalties, is it?”