The stewards have taken no action against the McLaren drivers over their last-lap collision in the Singapore Grand Prix sprint race.
Lando Norris attempted to dive down the inside of Oscar Piastri at turn five. The pair were following Charles Leclerc’s third-placed Ferrari at the time.The McLarens made contact at the apex of the corner. Both spun and Piastri hit the barrier on the outside. Norris was able to continue and finish in eighth place.
“Sorry about that,” Norris told his team on the radio. “Obviously I didn’t want that to happen but I thought I was fully alongside. I just ran out of space at the apex but I was there.”
Afterwards Norris defended his decision to attempt the pass where he did, insisting it was a viable move. “In the last lap there was a big opportunity into [turn] five so I went for it,” he said. “The gap closed a bit more than I would have liked and obviously I’ve had to back out of it because the gap was closing.
“So I’ve tried to avoid the incident and obviously there still was one, but it was a big gap so I went for it, I have the right to do that. The rest we go review as a team.”
Piastri played down the collision. “From where I sit, it’s for fourth and fifth for a sprint race so I’m not that bothered either way,” he said. “Just obviously it’s a lot of work now for the team to get both cars fixed.”
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Two other drivers were cleared following investigations. Alexander Albon was investigated for driving in the wrong direction after spinning during the Safety Car period and Oliver Bearman was investigated for driving unnecessarily slowly.
The stewards decided Sergio Perez was responsible for his clash with Lance Stroll and ruled a five-second time penalty was deserved. However as he did not finish the race, no penalty was applied.
The stewards also took issued no penalty over another incident involving Alexander Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto and Valtteri Bottas. As in Perez’s case, Bottas was found to deserve a penalty, but received none because he retired.
Stewards’ decision on Norris and Piastri
The driver of car one [Norris] attempted to overtake car 81 [Piastri] on the inside at turn five. A collision occurred at the apex.
The driver of car 81 explained that he had not expected car one to attempt an overtake and, after turning in, noticed car one on the inside and attempted to leave space. The driver of car one said that he saw an opportunity to overtake. He said that the front axle of his car was ahead of the mirror of car 81 prior to the apex and therefore expected to be left space. As he approached the apex, the space was less than he had anticipated so he had to use the inside kerb and braked and a collision occurred.
The stewards considered that both drivers had contributed to the incident and that neither driver was wholly or predominantly to blame for the collision. Therefore the stewards determined to take no further action.
Stewards’ decision on Stroll
Car 11 [Perez] attempted to overtake car 18 [Stroll] on the inside into turn 16 and both cars made contact. The stewards determine that the driver of car 18 took a reasonable line into the corner and therefore was not at fault.
Stewards’ decision on Perez
Car 11 attempted to overtake car 18 on the inside into turn 16 and both cars made contact. The stewards determine that the driver of car 11 initiated the overtaking attempt in a legitimate way, but then locked up the front right wheel therefore was not able to rotate the car anymore. The stewards determine the the driver of car 11 was predominantly at fault, but also take into account the weather conditions and acknowledge the difficulties of controlling the car on the brakes in such circumstances.
Therefore a five-second time penalty is deemed appropriate and would have been applied in-race if that had been possible. As car 11 was not classified and five-second time penalties regularly do not convert into grid drops, no penalty is applied in this case.
Stewards’ decision on Bearman
The stewards thoroughly reviewed marshalling/positioning data, timing data and on- board cameras. The driver concerned stayed at or above speeds necessary to stay below 1:52.0 around the vast majority of the circuit. However, the stewards determined that the drivers took appropriate actions to not impede other drivers, and slowed down significantly to allow another driver to pass while giving this driver a clear track. The stewards therefore determine that the driver concerned did not drive “unnecessarily slowly”, and that he was above the maximum time because he took appropriate steps, and we therefore take no further action.
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Stewards’ decision on Lindblad
Car 41 [Lindblad] spun after the exit of turn five and was facing towards oncoming cars. Car 41 drove in the wrong direction for approximately 100 metres back to turn five and used the run-off area to turn around. The driver explained that he could not perform a flick turn from the position in which his car was stopped after the spin. Because he was facing the wrong way, he drove back a short distance against oncoming traffic but staying to the edge of the track and away from the racing line.
After he was sure the last car had passed, the driver of car 41 attempted a flick turn but the car would not rotate. The driver explained that, knowing that the last car had passed and it would present no danger for him to continue, he drove back to turn five where he knew there would be space to turn. Having regard to the difficult position the driver of car 41 found himself in, where his car was originally prone and then unable to turn, and given further that there was no oncoming traffic, the stewards determined that what occurred was not in these circumstances unsafe and therefore took no further action.
Stewards’ decision on Bottas and Albon
When preparing for the restart at the end of a Safety Car period, car 23 collided with the rear of car 5, and car 77 collided with the rear of car 23. The driver of car 77 said that he had no opportunity to avoid colliding with the rear of car 23 after car 23 checked-up after it collided with car 5. In the Stewards’ assessment both collisions were a consequence of a concertina
created by cars ahead travelling at inconsistent speeds in the preparation for the restart. As cars 23 and 77 were towards the back of the pack of slow moving cars, the chain reaction effect on them was more pronounced. Nonetheless, the stewards determined that like the collision between cars 23 and 5, the collision between cars 77 and 23 could have been avoided had the driver of car 77 recognised the risk of a concertina ahead and left more space when following car 23, particularly having regard to the damp conditions. Had car 77 not retired from the sprint as a consequence of the collision, the stewards would have imposed a 5 second time penalty rather than the usual 10 second time penalty taking into account that, in part at least, a number of cars ahead in the queue had contributed by slowing at inconsistent rates. A 5 second time penalty would not have been converted into a grid penalty and therefore the Stewards determined not to apply a penalty in this case.
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This article will be updated
The start of qualifying has been delayed to 9:30pm local time
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