Blunt Lando Norris defends Oscar Piastri overtake attempt as he faces crash investigation

After lengthy delays before the F1 sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix, McLaren were on for a decent finish at the Marina Bay Circuit.

However, on the final lap of the race, Lando Norris collided with his teammate, Oscar Piastri, at Turn 5, whilst the duo were running in fourth and fifth, with Piastri in the lead car.

After the incident, Norris was able to get going again and crossed the line in eighth place, securing one point for the team. The British driver is now under investigation by the FIA and will have to report to the stewards before qualifying.

But on the other side of the garage, Piastri was not able to finish the sprint race and was one of the nine drivers who failed to finish the 20-lap sprint.

Immediately after the race, the reigning F1 world champion was asked about his point of view on the collision.

“I'd rather just go back and review it,” Norris told Sky Sports.

When asked if the move was on, Norris said, “It was… I apologize to them that one of the cars is out, but like I said, the rest of it we'll go review." 

On the other side of the incident, Piastri, who was leading his teammate, ended up with nothing to show from the sprint race.

The Australian driver had not seen the incident again when he spoke to the media, and was more interested in the amount of work that the team would have to do before the Grand Prix qualifying session.

“I've not seen it properly. I mean, from where I sit, it's fourth and fifth for a sprint race, so not that bothered either way,” Piastri admitted. 

“Just obviously it's a lot of work now for the team to get both cars fixed, so, just a shame for the team.”

Due to the delays caused by the weather conditions ahead of the sprint race, there are further delays to the qualifying session later in the day.

These delays will give McLaren time to get Norris and Piastri’s cars ready for the chance to get decent grid slots for the Grand Prix on Sunday.