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The British driver claims that "any driver on the starting lineup" would have made the move that sparked fresh controversy between himself and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri during the recent race.

Norris made contact with Piastri on the corner exit of the third corner at the Singapore circuit after contact with Max Verstappen's Red Bull sent his car sideways.

This incident threatens to undermine the well-managed team unity that McLaren has successfully preserved between their two drivers through thoughtful management.

Entering the event, the British driver trailed his teammate by a significant margin in the points table, and narrowed that gap by only a small amount after taking the final podium spot behind the Mercedes driver and the Red Bull star, with his teammate following in P4.

Racing Opinions

Norris insisted he had acted appropriately in overtaking Piastri.

"Every driver on the grid would have done what I did," he commented. "If you criticize me for going for a racing gap, you shouldn't be in F1.

"My car was slightly too close to Verstappen, but that's competition. No major incident occurred, I'm confident I would have ended up ahead of Piastri anyway because he had the less favorable part of the track on the outer line.

"Naturally I need to analyze it and the worst scenario I want is collision with my racing partner. I am the one who must avoid any incidents. I would put myself at risk just as much if similar things happened.

"I'll review it but the FIA obviously thought it was acceptable and the McLaren did, too."

The driver rejected he had been overly aggressive with his teammate. "I touched Max," he explained, "so I wasn't forceful with my racing partner."

Team Dynamics

The Australian showed displeasure about the collision. He communicated over the team radio that the squad's choice to do nothing about it was "not fair."

Post-event, he was more measured, saying he needed to review the situation before making additional statements.

"The main concern is two cars making contact," he commented. "It's never what we want, so I'll examine it in greater detail."

Piastri has already been the competitor to lose out in at least multiple debatable incidents this season.

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was the team's frontrunner early in the race but his teammate was allowed to use a different strategy to beat his teammate, a decision that competitors have scrutinized.

And in Italy, Piastri was instructed to let Norris back past for second place after the British driver was delayed by a lengthy service. He complained that he believed there had been an understanding that a slow pit stop was just part of racing that had to be tolerated, but acquiesced anyway.

Behind the scenes, he was not pleased about that circumstance, and he and the team held discussions to resolve it.

But when asked after the Singapore Grand Prix whether he had any concerns that his teammate might be receiving preferential treatment, Piastri said: "No."

Was he convinced the team had been fair throughout the championship?

"Ultimately, affirmative," Piastri stated. "Might situations have been improved at certain points? Certainly, but ultimately it's a developmental journey with the whole squad and I'm extremely happy that the intentions are positive, if that makes sense."

Management Perspective

McLaren boss the Italian said: "We'll have detailed analyses, productive conversations and, similar to post-Canada, we'll return stronger and more cohesive."

Stella explained that although the team had reviewed the collision in its immediate aftermath, "this contact is, actually, a consequence of another racing situation that occurred between Norris and the Red Bull driver."

Stella added: "Piastri made some comments while he was in the car but that's the type of character that we expect from our competitors. They have to make their position clear, that's what we ask of them.

"Our analysis needs to be very detailed, very analytical, it needs to take into account the viewpoint of our two drivers, and then we will develop a common opinion based on which we will determine whether we can simply validate our first assessment or there's additional factors that we should conclude.

"Whenever we start our conversations with the drivers, we always recall, as a premise: 'This is difficult'.

"Since this is the only matter 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 personal goals. This is a foundational principle of the approach we take at McLaren.

"We must remain precise, because there's much at risk. That's not only the valuable points, but it's also the trust of our competitors in the manner we function as a squad, and this is, if anything, more fundamental than the points themselves."

McLaren's Success

The controversy drew focus from the British team securing the constructors' championship for the second consecutive year.

It is the team's tenth team championship, moving them above Williams in the all-time list 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 accomplished this. It matches Red Bull's feat in winning with multiple events remaining in last season, although that was a 22-race season compared with twenty-four this year.

McLaren's advantage has reduced as the championship heads into its concluding phase. That is due in part to the characteristics of the three most recent circuits not favoring its capabilities, and partly because the team turned off the development program earlier, while Mercedes and Red Bull still have new parts coming to their vehicles.

That decision by the team was rooted in the reality that they were experiencing diminishing returns in improving this car, typical when a design has such an advantage at the start of a championship, and that they wanted to ensure they were well prepared for the following season.

Norris, however, is well aware of the magnitude of his team's achievement, and the remarkable turnaround they have shown under their team principal and CEO their leader from recent history, when they began the previous championship close to the rear of the grid.

"Another title is a wonderful achievement," Norris said. "Looking at where we were three years ago, we have surpassed every squad in terms of development in a period when it is more challenging to achieve with increased limitations and reduced testing.

"In an era when it should be more difficult than ever to dominate, that's precisely what the team has done and given us, clearly, the fastest vehicle on the grid.

"It's consistently a pleasing aspect to mention. It always brings satisfaction on your expression. But we've additionally excelled as a team in terms of competitors, between Piastri and myself {pushing each other