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The British driver states that "any driver on the starting lineup" would have attempted the move that sparked renewed tension between Norris and fellow driver Oscar Piastri during the Singapore Grand Prix.

The Briton collided with Piastri on the exit of turn three at Marina Bay after contact with Max Verstappen's Red Bull sent his car sideways.

This incident could potentially disrupt the carefully maintained team unity that McLaren has successfully preserved between their two drivers through strategic leadership.

Entering the event, Norris trailed Piastri by a significant margin in the points table, and narrowed that deficit by only a small amount after taking the final podium spot behind winner George Russell and Verstappen, with Piastri close behind in fourth position.

Driver Perspectives

Norris insisted he had done nothing wrong in passing Piastri.

"Every driver on the grid would have attempted what I did," he stated. "If you criticize me for taking a racing gap, you don't belong in Formula 1.

"I was slightly too close to Max, but that's racing. No major incident occurred, I'm confident I would have finished in front of Piastri anyway because he had the dirty part of the track on the outer line.

"Of course I need to analyze it and the worst scenario I want is collision with my teammate. I am the one who can't afford such situations. I would put myself at risk just as much if that occurred.

"I'll review it but the governing body clearly thought it was acceptable and the team did, too."

Norris denied he had been overly aggressive with his teammate. "I touched Max," he said, "so I wasn't forceful with my teammate."

Team Dynamics

The Australian showed unhappiness about the incident. He said over the team radio that the squad's choice to do nothing about it was "not fair."

Post-event, he was circumspect, stating he needed to review the incident before making additional statements.

"The primary issue is both vehicles making contact," he noted. "It's never what we want, so I'll analyze it in more depth."

Piastri has already been the competitor to lose out in no fewer than multiple debatable incidents this year.

In Hungary, he was the leading McLaren driver early in the race but his teammate was permitted to use a different strategy to beat his partner, a choice that rival teams have questioned.

And in Italy, the Australian was ordered to allow his teammate through for second place after the Briton was held up by a slow pit stop. Piastri complained that he thought there had been an understanding that a delayed service was just part of racing that had to be accepted, but acquiesced regardless.

Behind the scenes, he was not pleased about that situation, and he and the squad held discussions to address the matter.

But when asked after the Singapore Grand Prix whether he had any concerns that his teammate might be receiving preferential treatment, the Australian said: "None."

Was he convinced the squad had been equitable throughout the championship?

"Ultimately, affirmative," Piastri said. "Might situations have been improved at certain points? Certainly, but ultimately it's a developmental journey with the whole squad and I'm very happy that the aims are positive, if that is understandable."

Team Leadership

Team principal Andrea Stella commented: "We'll have detailed analyses, constructive discussions and, like after Canada, we'll come back more resilient and even more united."

The team principal explained that although the squad had analyzed the collision in its immediate aftermath, "the collision is, actually, a consequence of another racing situation that occurred between Lando and the Red Bull driver."

He continued: "Oscar made some comments while he was in the cockpit but that's the type of character that we expect from our competitors. They have to express their views, that's what we require of them.

"The team's review needs to be extremely thorough, very analytical, it needs to take into account the perspective of our two drivers, and then we will develop a shared understanding based on which we will determine whether we can just confirm our first assessment or there's something else that we should decide.

"Every time we start our conversations with the competitors, we always remind ourselves, as a premise: 'This is challenging'.

"Since this is the single area in which, when you compete as teammates, actually you can't have exactly the same interest for the two drivers, because they want to pursue their individual aspirations. This is a foundational principle of the way we race at McLaren.

"We must remain accurate, because there's a lot at risk. That's not just the championship points, but it's additionally the confidence of our drivers in the way we operate as a squad, and this is, perhaps, even more foundational than the championship standings."

Championship Achievement

The controversy drew focus from McLaren winning the team title for the second year running.

It is the team's tenth team championship, placing them ahead of their rivals in the historical rankings into second place behind record-holders Ferrari, who have claimed it on sixteen occasions since the competition began in the late fifties.

Their victory represents one of the quickest instances a team has done this. It matches their rival's achievement in securing the title with six races to go in 2023, although that was a 22-race season compared with twenty-four this season.

McLaren's advantage has diminished as the season heads into its final stages. That is due in part to the characteristics of the three most recent circuits not suiting its strengths, and partly because the team turned off the upgrade process some time ago, while their rivals still have new parts coming to their vehicles.

That decision by the team was rooted in the reality that they were seeing reduced benefits in developing this car, typical when a concept has such an edge at the beginning of a season, and that they wanted to ensure they were ready for next year.

The British driver, however, is well aware of the scale of his team's achievement, and the impressive transformation they have shown under their team principal and chief executive officer Zak Brown from just over two years ago, when they began the 2023 season near the rear of the field.

"Another title is a wonderful achievement," Norris commented. "If you consider where we were previously, we have outperformed every squad in terms of development in a period when it is harder to do so with increased limitations and reduced testing.

"At a time when it should be more difficult than ever to dominate, that's precisely what the team has accomplished and provided us, clearly, the best car on the starting lineup.

"It's consistently a pleasing aspect to say. It always brings satisfaction on your face. But we've additionally performed very well as a squad in terms of competitors, between Piastri and myself {pushing each other