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The British driver asserts that "any driver on the grid" would have attempted the maneuver that caused fresh controversy between Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri during the recent race.

Norris made contact with Piastri on the exit of the third corner at the Singapore circuit after contact with the leading car caused him to slide.

The collision could potentially disrupt the well-managed harmony that the British team has managed to maintain between both competitors through thoughtful management.

Before the race, the British driver trailed Piastri by 25 points in the championship standings, and reduced that deficit by only a small amount after finishing third behind the Mercedes driver and the Red Bull star, with his teammate close behind in fourth position.

Driver Perspectives

Norris insisted he had done nothing wrong in overtaking Piastri.

"Every driver on the grid would have done what I did," he stated. "If you criticize me for taking a big opportunity, you don't belong in F1.

"I was slightly too close to Verstappen, but that's competition. No major incident occurred, I'm confident I would have ended up ahead of Oscar regardless because he had the dirty part of the circuit on the outer line.

"Naturally I need to analyze it and the last thing I want is collision with my teammate. I am the one who can't afford any incidents. I would endanger my position just as much if that occurred.

"I'll review it but the governing body clearly thought it was fine and the team did, as well."

Norris denied he had been overly aggressive with Piastri. "I made contact with Max," he said, "so I wasn't aggressive with my teammate."

McLaren's Response

The Australian showed displeasure about the collision. He communicated over the team radio that the squad's choice to take no action about it was "not fair."

Post-event, he was more measured, saying he needed to review the incident before commenting further.

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

The Australian has previously been the driver to lose out in at least two controversial situations this year.

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was the leading McLaren driver initially but Norris was permitted to use a different strategy to overtake his teammate, a decision that rival teams have scrutinized.

And in Italy, the Australian was instructed to let Norris back past for second place after the Briton was delayed by a lengthy service. Piastri complained that he believed there had been an agreement that a slow pit stop was just normal competition that had to be accepted, but complied anyway.

Behind the scenes, he was unhappy about that situation, and he and the squad conducted talks to address the matter.

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

Did he believe the squad had been equitable all season?

"Ultimately, affirmative," he stated. "Might situations have been better at certain points? Certainly, but ultimately it's a developmental journey with the whole squad and I'm very happy that the aims 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 come back stronger and even more united."

Stella explained that although the team had analyzed the collision in its immediate aftermath, "this contact is, in reality, a consequence of another racing situation that occurred between Norris and Verstappen."

Stella added: "Oscar made some statements while he was in the cockpit but that's the type of character that we want from our drivers. They have to make their position clear, that's what we ask of them.

"The team's review needs to be extremely thorough, highly methodical, it needs to consider the viewpoint of our two drivers, and then we will form a shared understanding based on which we will see whether we can just confirm our first assessment or there's additional factors that we should conclude.

"Every time we begin our conversations with the competitors, we always remind ourselves, as a foundation: 'This is difficult'.

"Since this is the single area in which, when you compete as teammates, actually you can't have exactly the same interest for the both competitors, because they want to pursue their personal goals. This is a core concept of the approach we take at McLaren.

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

Championship Achievement

The controversy deflected attention from the British team securing the constructors' championship for the second year running.

It is McLaren's 10th constructors' title, placing them above their rivals in the historical rankings into second place behind record-holders Ferrari, who have won it 16 times since the championship's inception in 1958.

Their victory represents one of the quickest instances a team has accomplished this. It matches their rival's achievement in winning with six races to go in 2023, although that was a 22-race season compared with 24 this season.

The team's lead has diminished as the championship enters its final stages. That is partly because to the characteristics of the latest tracks not suiting its capabilities, and also because the team turned off the development program some time ago, while their rivals still have new parts arriving to their vehicles.

That decision by the team was based on the reality that they were seeing diminishing returns in improving this car, typical when a concept has such an edge at the beginning of a championship, and that they wanted to ensure they were ready for next year.

The British driver, though, is fully conscious of the magnitude of his squad's accomplishment, and the remarkable turnaround they have demonstrated under Stella and chief executive officer Zak Brown from just over two years ago, when they started the previous championship close to the rear of the grid.

"Another title is a great thing," he commented. "If you consider where we were previously, we have surpassed every team in terms of development in a time when it is harder to achieve with more restrictions and less wind tunnel time.

"At a time when it should be harder than before to dominate, that's exactly what the team has accomplished and provided us, clearly, the best car on the starting lineup.

"That's always a pleasing aspect to mention. It always puts a smile on your face. But we've additionally excelled as a team in terms of drivers, between Oscar and me {pushing each other