Singapore GP stewards reveal Lando Norris investigation decision following Oscar Piastri clash

Lando Norris has brushed off his collision with Oscar Piastri at F1’s Singapore GP sprint, and escaped a penalty for taking his team-mate out of the race.

On the final lap of the 20-lap sprint, which was held in mixed conditions, Norris made a lunge on Piastri on the inside of Turn 5, unsuccessfully backing out of a closing gap and striking Piastri’s right-rear corner.

The collision sent both cars into a spin, with Piastri out of a race with significant rear-end damage and Norris dropping down to eighth at the finish. But Norris had risked losing that points-paying position after being summoned to the FIA race stewards.

Exlaining the no-further-action decision, a stewards’ document read: “The driver of Car 81 explained that he had not expected Car 1 to attempt an overtake and, after turning in, noticed Car 1 on the inside and attempted to leave space.

“The driver of Car 1 said that he saw an opportunity to overtake. He said that the front axle
of his car was ahead of the mirror of Car 81 prior to the apex and therefore expected to be left space. As he approached the apex, the space was less than he had anticipated so he had to use the inside kerb and braked and a collision occurred.

“The Stewards considered that both drivers had contributed to the incident and that neither driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for the collision. Therefore the Stewards determined to take no further action.”

Speaking after the sprint, Norris said: “In the last lap, there was a big opportunity into Turn 5, so I went for it.

“The gap closed a bit more than I would have liked, and obviously I’ve had to back out of it because the gap was closing, so I’ve had to try and avoid the incident. And obviously there still was one.

“But it was a big gap, so I went for it. I have the right to do that. The rest, we go review as a team.”

Piastri said: “I need to look at it. I didn’t see him at the apex. I looked behind into the corner and saw he was a reasonable way behind for a corner like that but I’ll have a look and the team can do what it needs to do.”

Singapore GP stewards reveal Lando Norris investigation decision following Oscar Piastri clash

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

Beyond the points loss, McLaren’s mechanics were also in a race against time to get Piastri’s damaged car ready for qualifying, which was delayed until 21:30 local time.

Piastri did make it out at the start of Q1 having required a new gearbox, a change which the team could perform without penalty. Teams were allowed to start working on their cars after the sprint at 19:13 local time.