Brown downplays Norris ‘repercussions’: ‘They’re very marginal’

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has moved to calm speculation surrounding the “repercussions” Lando Norris is set to face for his clash with teammate Oscar Piastri in Singapore – describing the consequences as “very marginal” and purely “sporting” in nature.

The Norris-Piastri clash at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix caused a stir both inside and outside McLaren, with the pair making light contact as they battled for position into Turn 3.

Ahead of this weekend’s US Grand Prix, Norris admitted that McLaren had held him accountable for is risky maneuver at Marina Bay and that he’d face repercussions for the incident, but Brown made clear that no serious penalties are in play.

“We review, of course, every race,” Brown told Sky Sports F1. “Lando and Oscar had a little bit of a touch there. The start of a Formula 1 race is pretty manic, it was clearly not intentional. But we don’t want our cars touching, so we laid out how we go racing at the start of the year.

“So [there will be] a little of a sporting repercussion in lieu of what happened. So we move forward, the drivers are comfortable and they’re free to race and looking forward to a big race weekend.”

Very Marginal Repercussions

Brown reiterated that the team viewed the incident as a minor racing mistake under tricky conditions, insisting the outcome will be barely visible to the outside world.

“It’s marginal,” he said. “It’s consistent with what happened – which was a racing incident, at the end of the day, at the start of a Grand Prix with a track that was somewhat damp.

“It wasn’t intentional, so [the repercussions will be] very marginal, it probably won’t be noticed. Lando and Oscar know what it is, which is what’s most important.”

Brown also praised McLaren’s commitment to allowing both drivers to race freely despite their close title fight.

“Of course we want to be transparent with our fans. We are doing it the hard way, trying to let both guys race for the championship.

“The easy way out would be to have a one and two as some teams do, but that’s not how McLaren want to go racing.”

Brundle: It’s Actually Very Good for the Sport

Sky F1 pundit Martin Brundle echoed Brown’s sentiment, suggesting the team’s internal measures are likely more symbolic than punitive.

“Clearly whatever they are going to do will be inside the team and won’t affect the overall performance of the team against others,” Brundle said.

“It’s slightly odd here because I think what McLaren are doing is actually for the sport very good. They can race from lights out to the chequered flag with one proviso – don’t run into each other.

Read also:

• Norris: McLaren ‘held me accountable’ for Singapore Piastri clash

“If it hadn’t been Piastri alongside him, the team would have cheered those first few corners for Lando, they were actually brilliantly driven, he happened to just touch his team-mate.

“If we were in a development race I think it would be, for example, Oscar would get the new parts first. Or, if it’s a slipstream track where you need a slipstream in qualifying, Oscar would get priority on that.

“It will be that kind of intra-team thing that doesn’t hand advantage to other teams.”

With both McLaren drivers in the thick of the championship fight, Brown’s message is clear: no heavy hand, just a reminder that in papaya colours, racing hard doesn’t mean crashing into each other.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook