McLaren has caused a media storm by refusing to reveal details of the sporting penalty that will be imposed on Lando Norris for his collision with title rival and team-mate Oscar Piastri in Singapore during the United States Grand Prix.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella said after the Singapore race that there was no reason to take action over the first-lap overtaking. But Norris shocked the paddock on Thursday in Austin by revealing he would face “repercussions” that could affect him until the end of the season.
The Englishman trails Piastri by 22 points with six rounds of the 2025 season remaining, and unknown sanctions appear to have further strengthened his task of chasing the Australian.
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Oscar Piastri gets angry on the radio when Lando Norris passes by after making contact.
Through two individual interviews Sky Sports F1 Speaking at The Circuit of The Americas on Friday, Brown confirmed the sanctions imposed on Norris would be “minor” and insisted the team would have “zero interference” in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The team’s refusal to confirm the exact nature of the sanctions has created great uncertainty into the sprint event. Sky Sports F1 We’ve compiled the information shared by McLaren to assess what Norris’ punishment is most likely to be.
What did Brown say to Skye?
speaking Sky Sports F1 During the weekend’s only practice session in Austin, McLaren pit wall commentator Tim Brown said the sanctions were “a bit of a sporting repercussion on behalf of what happened”.
When asked for details, he replied: “It is minor and consistent with what happened. It is a racing incident that occurs at the end of the day, at the start of a grand prix on a rather damp track. It was not intentional.
“It’s a very minor thing. It’s probably not noticeable. Lando and Oscar know what it is, and that’s the most important thing.
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McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explains the much-reported ‘effects’ following Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s crash in Singapore.
“Of course we want to be transparent with the fans. They’re both working hard to make sure they can race for the championship. The easy way would be to have a first and a second like some teams do, but that’s how McLaren wants to go racing now.”
Brown was also asked in a separate interview to clarify Norris’ suggestion Thursday that the penalty could affect him until the end of the season.
In a somewhat contradictory response, Brown said, “It’s a one-time thing, but maybe it’s not just one race.”
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Ted Kravitz, David Croft and Karun Chandhok discuss whether McLaren are now interfering after Lando Norris revealed he would face it.
Sky Sports F1 Ted Kravitz asked Brown if he could reassure McLaren fans that the team would not interfere with Sunday’s race.
Brown said there would be “zero interference” on Sunday, before adding: “We want them to race. We’re very happy. We treat them very equally and fairly.”
“I understand that everyone watching has their own opinion, that’s the great thing about the sport, but I can tell everyone to race hard, fair and equal on Sunday afternoon.”
What punishment can I receive?
Although Brown did not explicitly confirm the nature of the sanctions, he appeared to have made a strong inference that the punishment would take place on Saturday rather than Sunday.
This gives Piastri a procedural advantage, with him being able to choose whether to go before or after Norris for important points in qualifying.
Teams without a clear number one driver typically alternate that privilege from race to race, so McLaren could give him the advantage in the next two races before rotating, for example.
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Highlights from the U.S. Grand Prix sprint qualifying.
Piatri emerged from the pit lane behind Norris in the final leg of Sprint Qualifying in Austin on Friday, but Norris was faster as Piastri finished second behind Verstappen in third.
Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle also speculated that the Piastri could be favored if McLaren bring in new parts before the end of the season.
“It might have something to do with the process to give Piastri an edge over Norris,” Brundle said. “I guess that was the deal they made.
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Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle believes McLaren’s attempt to ‘react’ Lando Norris following his clash with Oscar Piastri in Singapore will ultimately have negative consequences.
“You can race to the checkered flag with lights out, but the only rule is you can’t run into each other.
“It could be about slipstreaming, Norris might have to give Piastri a tow on some circuits, or when the new wings come out, one driver might get it.
“But they are not going to do anything that will detract from the overall performance of the team and the overall performance of both drivers against the opposition – especially with Max Verstappen cruising through the championship in the rear-view mirror.”
Why is McLaren taking this approach?
While there is confusion over McLaren sanctioning Norris for what many, including the stewards in Singapore, judged to be a fair racing maneuver, the team says the decision was made after consulting a framework agreed at the start of the season.
Stella said on Friday: “Reverberations or consequences are part of our framework. This is what both drivers wanted to have in their racing framework.”
Perhaps more confusing to onlookers was the decision to announce sanctions but refuse to share details.
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McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both said they had had an impact after crashing in the final race in Singapore, but neither was ready to explain exactly what that meant.
Regardless of whether anyone agrees with punishing Norris, it certainly would have made more sense for the team to say publicly that the matter was handled internally.
Instead, the entire paddock is trying to prove what penalty Norris faces and how important it is to the title race.
It’s worth noting that Norris was the first to tell the press that he was facing “repercussions.” So it’s possible that Norris alone chose to share the details, rather than the entire team agreeing to discuss the move publicly.
Brundle ultimately concluded that McLaren was paying a price for choosing two No. 1 drivers.
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Anthony Davidson was at the SkyPad to watch the opening lap clash between Lando Norris and Oscar Piatri.
He said: “The whole system is set up to fail. In a team environment, you have two extremely competitive athletes as employees and the final link in the chain represents 1500 people. They get paid as employees, but they end up on track as individuals, so of course it’s going to go wrong.
“McLaren has chosen to handle it this way. Some people would more or less say that the rules cover this and if you collide, you’ll get a penalty or a puncture. That’s how McLaren decided to run the race.”
“The drivers know that the overall spirit of Andrea Stella and Zak Brown has taken them from last place in the field at the start of 2023 to back-to-back champions.
“Both drivers are smart enough to know that the whole system works very well, but it feels a little clunky because people don’t understand what’s going on.”
Live US GP schedule on Sky Sports F1
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Take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the United States Grand Prix.
Saturday, October 18th
5pm: Building the US GP sprint
6pm: US GP Sprint
7 p.m.: Ted’s sprint notes
9pm: Preparing for US GP Qualifying*
10pm: US GP Qualifying*
12:00 AM (Sunday Morning): Ted’s Qualifying Laptop*
Sunday, October 19th
6:30 p.m.: Grand Prix Sunday: U.S. GP strengthened*
8 p.m.: United States Grand Prix*
10 PM: Checkered Flag: US GP Reaction
11 PM: Ted’s Notes
*It will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 in North America for this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin. Stream Sky Sports NOW – No Commitment, Cancel Anytime
