McLaren have backtracked on the “repercussions” given to driver Lando Norris after colliding with team-mate Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix. As a result of banging wheels with his fellow McLaren driver, the Brit was forced to race with an undisclosed “sporting” sanction at the United States Grand Prix last weekend.
The situation raised questions over whether Piastri might face something similar at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday, after he was involved in a crash at the first corner of last Saturday’s Sprint race in Austin which resulted in his car spinning around and taking out Norris in the other McLaren.
But it seems that will not be the case. As reported by the Daily Mail, McLaren have decided to “wipe the slate clean” between their two drivers. The change of approach comes as they now face a bona fide threat from Max Verstappen whose stellar recent form has catapulted him back into contention for the drivers’ title.
McLaren have already sealed the constructors’ crown and the battle for individual glory had looked for some time to be a straight shoot-out between Piastri and Norris. But Red Bull racer Verstappen has won three of the last four Grands Prix, including a flawless weekend in Austin where he won both the Sprint and main races, to add himself into the mix.
Verstappen is 40 points adrift of leader Piastri, while Norris sits in second place and just 14 points behind his team-mate. It is a large gap to close with only five rounds remaining, but the Dutchman has outscored Piastri by 64 over the four most recent race weekends, proving he is still very much in contention for what would be a fifth consecutive drivers’ title.
That threat has prompted McLaren to reconsider their approach and a team insider told the Mail: “There have been very constructive talks and wiping the slate clean was decided to be the best way forward. We have a common ‘adversary’ and stopping him is the main priority.
“Both drivers know the framework that governs how they drive in the team. But this is not rigid and depends on the demands of every situation in a race. Both drivers are happy with the resolution that has been reached.”
It remains to be seen whether McLaren will choose to priorities one of their drivers over the other as they try to stop Verstappen from beating both of them. Team principal Andrea Stella conceded after the Austin race that he has not ruled out the prospect of doing so, but made it clear: “When it comes to having to make a call as to a driver, this will only be led by mathematics.
“We talked before about the experience and leaning on the experience, I can recall at least 2007, 2010, in which you go to the last race and it’s actually the third that wins the championship. So we’re not going to close the door unless this is closed by mathematics.”