Stella admits McLaren ‘face difficulties’ managing Norris and Piastri in title run-in

The way in which McLaren manage Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, after the pair clashed again at the Singapore Grand Prix, is now crucial to avoid the drivers losing trust in the team’s approach on the title run-in, the team principal, Andrea Stella, has acknowledged.

The team will conduct an extensive review of their decision making during the race at the Marina Bay circuit where Norris barged into his teammate while overtaking him in the opening corners.

Related: Norris rejects Piastri’s complaints after McLaren duo clash in Singapore

Norris had been deflected into his teammate when he clipped the back of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen as he dived up the inside of turn three on the opening lap. He went on to take the place and finished third in front of Piastri in fourth.

The Australian was furious at the time, telling the team in no uncertain terms he believed it had been unfair and counter to McLaren’s single most important rule that the teammates should not clash with one another as part of the approach to letting them race.

Norris hit back afterwards, however, saying: “If you fault me for just going on the inside of a big gap then you should not be in Formula One. There was nothing wrong with what I did.”

McLaren did not switch their driver’s places, having assessed at the time that Norris had not been at fault as he had been jolted into Piastri as a result of having tagged Verstappen. Stella confirmed this was the case afterwards but said they would carefully appraise the decision with both drivers.

“The review needs to be very detailed, very analytical, and it needs to take into account the point of view of our two drivers,” he said. “We will form a common opinion and we will see whether it confirms our initial interpretation, or if there is something else that we should compute.

“We need to be accurate because there is a lot at stake, not only the championship points but the trust of our drivers and the way we operate as a team.”

Norris closed the gap to his teammate by three points in Singapore and is now 22 in arrears with six meetings remaining in what is likely to be an increasingly tense title run-in, during which how McLaren manage their drivers may prove a complex process.

Piastri acceded to a request to move over for Norris at Monza when the British driver lost a place to his teammate after a slow pit stop, which was the most recent case of the team attempting to pursue their principles of fairness scrupulously to both drivers while allowing them to race. It is, however, proving progressively more complex to deal with each time they are forced to adapt to a new situation, an issue that was acknowledged by Stella.

“When you are racing as a team, you cannot have exactly the same interests for the two drivers because they want to pursue their aspirations,” he said. “We want to protect this ‘let them race’ concept and we know as soon as you adopt this concept you face difficulties.”