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Lando Norris claims that "any driver on the grid" would have made the maneuver that caused fresh controversy between himself and fellow driver the Australian during the recent race.

Norris made contact with his teammate on the exit of turn three at Marina Bay after contact with Max Verstappen's Red Bull caused him to slide.

The collision could potentially disrupt the well-managed harmony that the British team has successfully preserved between their two drivers through strategic leadership.

Entering the event, Norris was behind his teammate by a significant margin in the championship standings, and narrowed that deficit by only three points after taking the final podium spot behind winner George Russell and Verstappen, with Piastri close behind in fourth position.

Racing Opinions

Norris insisted he had done nothing wrong in overtaking his teammate.

"Anyone on the grid would have attempted what I did," he commented. "Should you fault me for going for a big opportunity, you don't belong in Formula 1.

"I was a bit too close to Max, but that's competition. No major incident occurred, I'm certain I would have finished in front of Oscar anyway because he had the less favorable part of the circuit on the outer line.

"Naturally I need to analyze it and the worst scenario I want is contact with my teammate. I am the one who must avoid such situations. I would put myself at risk just as much if similar things happened.

"I will examine it but the governing body clearly thought it was fine and the McLaren did, too."

Norris denied he had been too forceful with Piastri. "I made contact with Max," he explained, "so I wasn't forceful with my teammate."

Team Dynamics

The Australian showed unhappiness about the collision. He communicated over the in-car communication that the team's decision to take no action about it was "not fair."

Post-event, he was circumspect, stating he needed to watch the incident before making additional statements.

"The primary issue is two cars making contact," he noted. "That's never what we want, so I'll examine it in greater detail."

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

In Hungary, he was the leading McLaren driver early in the race but his teammate was permitted to use a different strategy to overtake his teammate, a choice that competitors have questioned.

And in Italy, the Australian was ordered to allow his teammate through for P2 after the Briton was delayed by a slow pit stop. Piastri expressed concern that he believed there had been an agreement that a slow pit stop was just normal competition that had to be accepted, but complied regardless.

Internally, he was not pleased about that situation, and he and the team held discussions to address the matter.

But questioned after Sunday's race whether he had worries that Norris might be receiving preferential treatment, the Australian responded: "No."

Was he convinced the team had been equitable all season?

"Ultimately, affirmative," he stated. "Could things have been improved at specific moments? Yes, but ultimately it's a developmental journey with the whole squad and I'm very happy that the intentions are positive, if that makes sense."

Management Perspective

McLaren boss the Italian said: "We'll have thorough reviews, constructive discussions and, similar to post-Canada, we'll return stronger and more cohesive."

Stella stated that although the team had analyzed the incident in its immediate aftermath, "this contact is, actually, a result of different circumstances that happened between Lando and Verstappen."

He continued: "Oscar made some comments while he was in the cockpit but that's the kind of attitude that we want from our drivers. They have to make their position clear, that's what we ask of them.

"Our analysis needs to be very detailed, highly methodical, it needs to consider the perspective of our both competitors, and then we will develop a shared understanding upon which we will determine whether we can simply validate our initial interpretation or there's additional factors that we should conclude.

"Whenever we begin our discussions with the competitors, we always remind ourselves, as a premise: 'This is challenging'.

"Since this is the single area in which, when you compete as teammates, in fact you cannot maintain identical objectives for the two drivers, because they seek to achieve their individual aspirations. This is a foundational principle of the way we race at McLaren.

"We must remain accurate, because there's a lot at risk. That's not only the valuable points, but it's also the confidence of our drivers in the manner we function as a team, and this is, perhaps, even more foundational than the championship standings."

Championship Achievement

The incident drew focus from McLaren securing the team title for the second consecutive year.

It is the team's 10th constructors' title, placing them above Williams in the all-time list into second place after leaders Ferrari, who have claimed it on sixteen occasions since the championship's inception in the late fifties.

Their victory represents one of the earliest times a squad has done this. It equals their rival's achievement in securing the title with six races to go in last season, although that was a 22-race season compared with twenty-four this season.

The team's lead has diminished as the season enters its concluding phase. That is partly because to the characteristics of the latest tracks not suiting its capabilities, and partly because McLaren ceased the upgrade process some time ago, while their rivals still have updates coming to their cars.

This choice by the team was rooted in the fact that they were seeing reduced benefits in improving this vehicle, common when a design has such an edge at the beginning of a season, 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 impressive transformation they have shown under Stella and chief executive officer Zak Brown from recent history, when they began the previous championship close to the back of the field.

"A second championship is a great thing," Norris commented. "If you consider where we were three years ago, we have outperformed every team in terms of progress in a time when it is harder to do so with more restrictions and less wind tunnel time.

"In an era when it should be harder than ever to excel, that's exactly what the squad has done and provided us, clearly, the fastest vehicle on the grid.

"That's always a pleasing aspect to mention. It always brings satisfaction on your face. But we've also excelled as a squad in terms of competitors, between Oscar and me {pushing each other