McLaren’s internal drama from Singapore is now settled, clearing the way for their drivers to fully focus on the Formula 1 championship.
Lando Norris confirmed on Thursday, October 16, 2025, that the team has held him accountable for the collision with his teammate, Oscar Piastri, at the start of the last race in Singapore two weeks prior. This aggressive move allowed Norris to gain an early advantage and finish ahead of Piastri, narrowing Piastri’s championship lead to just 22 points. With six Grand Prix and three sprint races remaining, the title fight is tighter than ever.
While the specific “responsibility” and “consequences” for Norris weren’t detailed, both drivers assured that McLaren’s established “papaya rules” for on-track racing would remain unchanged as they head into this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
“We’re very clear on how we want to go racing as a team,” Piastri stated at the Circuit of the Americas. “And the incident we had in Singapore isn’t how we want to go racing.” During the Singapore race, Piastri voiced his frustration over the team radio, feeling that McLaren wasn’t treating him “fair” by not instructing Norris to yield, especially after previous instances where he was told to let Norris pass.
These recent events have sparked discussions about whether the intense pressure of a championship battle between teammates, coupled with critical racing decisions, is straining the unity of a team that has already secured the constructor’s championship. Both Piastri and Norris are vying for their inaugural F1 driver’s title.
Norris accepted responsibility for the incident, even though the team didn’t intervene during the race and race stewards didn’t penalize him.
“The simple answer is that there was contact between the two cars and that’s something which we always want to avoid,” Norris explained. “I didn’t want what happened to happen. But I’m never going to let go of an opportunity. There was a gap and I went for it… But nothing changes from how we go racing.”
Norris dismissed any suggestions of a rift within the team, comparing it to the contentious rivalry between Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg during their championship battles in 2015 and 2016.
He commended McLaren team principal Andrea Stella’s efforts in managing internal tensions. “I don’t know what’s happened to other teams in the past and what Lewis and Rosberg had, but Andrea’s No. 1 priority is preserving the morale, and the framework that we set out,” Norris noted.
Piastri boasts seven wins this season, two more than Norris, though neither driver has clinched a podium finish in the last three races. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is mounting a strong late-season comeback, with two victories and a second-place finish in the last three races, reigniting his championship aspirations. With Verstappen in hot pursuit, Piastri was asked if he believes the team should prioritize him as the championship leader.
“No. I think every driver wants a fair chance to try and win a championship,” Piastri asserted. “For me, it’s more than fair to let us both keep fighting for that.”
Keeping Cool in the Cockpit
The upcoming sprint race on Saturday and the main event on Sunday have been designated “heat hazard” events by the FIA, with temperatures expected to exceed 88°F (31°C) on both days. This classification activates a rule allowing drivers the option to wear specialized cooling vests during the race.
Texas marks the second consecutive race under the heat hazard designation. Inside the cockpit, temperatures can climb even higher than the ambient conditions.
These cooling vests circulate fluid through a system of tubes. George Russell of Mercedes wore one during his commanding victory in the scorching Singapore heat, while Verstappen chose not to, finishing second.