Oscar Piastri spoke out against McLaren’s handling of a Singapore Grand Prix incident involving Lando Norris, and Sky Sports’ David Croft believes he may know why.
Piastri started third on the grid at Marina Bay, two places ahead of his teammate. But Norris made up ground quickly, hitting the back of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and forcing Piastri off track as he moved through.
Piastri asked over the radio whether the team was okay with how Norris had gone about it. After reviewing the incident, McLaren chose not to swap positions between the two drivers. Piastri didn’t hide his frustration, calling it “not fair.”
Afterwards, Piastri told reporters he wanted to see more footage before commenting further. But with the US Grand Prix coming up next, there could be some difficult conversations ahead inside McLaren.
Oscar Piastri thinks Lando Norris owes him one after Monza decision
David Croft noted during his commentary that Piastri is ‘starting to lose a bit of patience’ with McLaren, and that he’s been on the receiving end of most team orders this year.
The most notable was at Monza, where he was told to give up second place to Norris. The team justified it by citing Norris’ slow pit stop, though it’s worth remembering that Piastri had already let him undercut earlier in the race.
Piastri also provided a slipstream in qualifying to help Norris reach Q3. He’s said before that he expects something back for these sacrifices, but so far, nothing has come his way.
Motorsport journalist Filip Cleeren also pointed out that Piastri felt uncomfortable with the decision during the Italian GP.
“This is Oscar Piastri, who I think is starting to lose a bit of patience with some of what’s coming his way this season,” Sky Sports commentator Croft said.
“Go back to Monza, where he’s asked to swap places, in qualifying at Monza where he’s asked to give his championship rival a tow to get him into Q3. He’s complied with that, he’s done what the team have asked.
“Now I think he wants a little bit of payback for him. I can hear his frustrations and a little bit of anger in his voice there.”
Martin Brundle and David Coulthard split on Lando Norris’ move against Oscar Piastri
David Coulthard felt that Piastri made a strong case over the radio. When McLaren pinned the collision on Norris reacting to Verstappen, the championship leader argued that he wasn’t fully in control of his car.
Coulthard is concerned that McLaren have become too involved in managing their drivers’ battles, believing both should feel that any final decisions are justified.
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On the other hand, Martin Brundle viewed Norris’ move as bold and saw no reason for Piastri to be upset about it.
But Brundle did point out that with the constructors’ title now decided, future clashes between the two could be even more intense.
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