McLaren Racing CEO Jack Brown has clarified that Lando Norris will be given “sporting consequences for what happened” at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix.
The British driver made a bold move at the start of the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. After starting from fifth on the grid, he took third from his teammate Oscar Piastri, but while doing so, he collided with the back of Max Verstappen and then the side of Piastri.
McLaren has made it clear that both of its drivers are free to race, provided they keep it clean. Piastri was clearly unhappy with the Woking organization’s decision not to step in following the incident, but Norris has now confirmed he will face “consequences by the end of the year”.
Speaking to the media before the United States Grand Prix, Norris explained: “It’s not that I’ve survived anything, but it was also an incident that was small and could have been avoided. I said after the race, I can’t risk contact and having anything happen like it did because I’ve taken as much risk of anything going wrong throughout my championship as I have if I’m up against anybody.
“Definitely, the results for me, but otherwise the engagement and the way we go racing is the same as it’s always been.”
Norris’ comments have raised questions about what impact this will have as he battles for his first championship title with Piastri. Now, Brown has confirmed that the results will be modest and in line with a “racing incident”.
“We review every race. Lando and Oscar had a tough time in Singapore. F1 race starts are quite capricious. This was clearly not intentional,” Brown explained. Sky Sports F1,
lando norris, mclaren
Photo by: Sam Bloxham/LAT Images via Getty Images
“We don’t want our cars to touch, so we set out how we will be racing at the beginning of the year. A little bit of sporting impact in return for what happened. We move forward. The drivers are comfortable, they are free to race and we are looking forward to a great race weekend.”
Brown said on the severity of the results: “It’s marginal, it’s consistent with what happened. It’s a racing event at the end of the day, at the start of a Grand Prix on a track that was somewhat damp. It wasn’t intentional.
“It’s very minor. It probably won’t be noticed. Lando and Oscar know what it 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 easier way would be one and two, as some teams do, but McLaren don’t want to be racing that way.”
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