Piastri plays down McLaren’s last-lap collision

Oscar Piastri has responded to the collision between the two McLarens on the final lap of the Singapore Grand Prix sprint. Piastri was running fourth and Lando Norris fifth when Norris, chasing Charles Leclerc, tried to pass on the inside at Turn 5 and the cars collided. Piastri spun and had to retire; Norris was able to continue but finished eighth. The 100-kilometre sprint had been delayed by 30 minutes because of heavy rain. The move transformed the closing moments of McLaren’s race.

Asked by Craig Slater of Sky Sports F1 about the crash footage and McLaren’s internal “papaya” rules, Piastri played down the lost points. “I’ve not seen it properly. I mean, from where I sit, I’m not… You know, it’s for fourth and fifth for a sprint race, so… I’m not bothered either way,” he said. He added that the team now had a lot of work to do to repair both cars, and called the incident a shame for McLaren.

Norris told his team over the radio that he was sorry, explaining he believed he had drawn level with his team-mate but had no space left at the corner's apex. The FIA stewards are investigating his role in the collision. The result came with McLaren trailing Ferrari by 89 points in the constructors’ standings. Piastri did not criticise Norris, instead pointing to the workload facing the mechanics. Andrea Stella will have to manage the team’s internal dynamics ahead of Sunday’s main event. Max Verstappen won the sprint ahead of Lewis Hamilton.