Lando Norris fires back at critics over Oscar Piastri clash: ‘You shouldn’t be in F1’

Lando Norris believes anyone criticising his overtake on Oscar Piastri shouldn’t be involved in F1.

Norris’ first-lap overtake on Piastri has come under heavy scrutiny following the Singapore Grand Prix.

Norris forced Piastri wide at Turn 3 after initially tagging Max Verstappen. 

The British driver sustained minor front wing damage, but it didn’t compromise his pace.

The overtake irked Piastri, who questioned how “fair” it was in relation to McLaren’s rules of engagement. 

Piastri subtly asked McLaren if they would swap the positions back, given Norris’ aggressive manoeuvre. As the stewards took no action, McLaren decided not to intervene.

Speaking in the post-race FIA drivers’ press conference, Norris dismissed talk that his driving had gone beyond the limits.

“I’ve still not even seen it,” Norris said. “I still need to go in and see it. I might look at it and think there’s something else I could have done or done better. Anyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing as I did. So I think if you fault me for just going on the inside and putting my car on the inside of a big gap, then, yeah, I think you shouldn’t be in Formula 1.

“So, you know, I don’t think there was anything wrong that I did. Of course, I misjudged a little bit how close I was to Max, but that’s racing. Nothing happened otherwise, and I’m sure I still would have ended up ahead of Oscar anyway because I was on the inside and he would have had the dirty side of the track on the outside. So, I need to go review it, of course.

“I need to look at things and see if there was something I could have done better. The last thing I want is to make contact with my teammate, especially because all I get is questions from you guys. So, you know, I’m the one that can’t afford anything compared to him.

“I would put myself at risk just as much if that kind of thing happens. So, yeah, I’ll see what I can do with it next time. But the FIA obviously thought it was fine, and the team did too. So, that’s it.”

F1 title race hots up at McLaren

Norris now sits 22 points behind Piastri with six rounds to go.

The momentum is with the British driver as he tries to claw back the points he lost at Zandvoort, where he failed to finish the race due to a chassis issue.

Tension between the McLaren pair is likely to increase as the season nears its conclusion.

Norris is confident nothing will change regarding how he and Piastri are allowed to race each other after Singapore.

“I mean, it’ll just remain the same, which is open to race,” he added. “So, yeah, nothing will change because we’re free to race and have been the whole season.”