Oscar Piastri makes it clear after sprint crash: “Miles away from that”

This is something no team principal likes to see: in the Singapore Sprint, a crash occurred on the final lap – of all people, between two team-mates: Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were running in 4th and 5th place when the latter attempted to overtake his team-mate. He made his move in the fifth corner, misjudged the situation, and sent Piastri off the track.

Norris himself was able to continue and still salvaged a World Championship point by finishing eighth, but for Piastri, the race was over just before the chequered flag. The stewards investigated the incident but decided against imposing a penalty, as neither driver was solely to blame for the accident.

Oscar Piastri is convinced: it’s nothing like the incident in 2025

It was nevertheless a bitter pill to swallow for the Papaya squad, as the collision cost the McLaren team – which is battling for third place in the Constructors’ Championship against the resurgent Red Bull Racing team – vital points. Team principal Andrea Stella was understandably furious, describing the collision as “unacceptable”.

Some Grand Prix observers and Formula 1 fans were reminded of the Singapore Grand Prix start incident between Norris and Piastri last year: After the start lights went out, Norris had forced his way past Piastri, with the two cars making slight contact but managing to carry on. For Piastri, however, one thing is clear: the two incidents cannot be compared.

After qualifying, the 25-year-old explained: “If you look at it in isolation, this year’s situation is, of course, a world away from last year’s.” And he added in a conciliatory tone: “It was just a shame for the team that we dropped points and that this increased both the workload and the repair costs. Lando apologised; it wasn’t necessarily a bad manoeuvre. I think, given our current situation, it shouldn’t have happened, but we’ve put it behind us as a team.”

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“The most important thing, of course, is that something like this simply mustn’t happen – in terms of the points, the workload and the costs – and it was a situation that needn’t have happened. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time we’ve clashed, but I think we’re both very good at apologising when necessary and then moving on. And that’s exactly what makes us so strong as a team.”