Brown Defends Secrecy Over Lando Norris Sanctions

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has defended the team’s decision to keep the details of Lando Norris’s penalty private following his opening-lap collision with teammate Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The incident occurred in the initial corners at Marina Bay when Norris, after making contact with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, collided with Piastri’s McLaren. The contact allowed Norris to gain a position, prompting a frustrated Piastri to comment over the radio, “that wasn’t very teamlike,” and question why the places were not reversed.

Ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Norris admitted he would face “repercussions until the end of the season,” a consequence that Team Principal Andrea Stella confirmed had been accepted by both drivers.

Speaking at a press conference in Austin, Brown explained the team’s secrecy, stating that revealing internal procedures would be a competitive disadvantage. “We’re racing against nine other teams, and I don’t think you want to necessarily show your hand on how you go motor racing,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re at a sporting event and we can’t necessarily tell everyone everything, no different than our set-up sheets aren’t very public.”

Brown emphasized that the team had been transparent in confirming that action was taken. He also downplayed the severity of the collision, describing it as a “pretty minor incident” that was “clearly… unintentional,” occurring in chaotic, damp conditions at the start of a race.

He added that the team’s on-track code of conduct, known as the “Papaya Rules,” is designed to prevent contact between the two cars. “We just want to make sure that while they’re racing hard, they don’t come together,” Brown explained. “It was a pretty minor situation, so it’s a pretty minor consequence.”

When pressed again for specifics, Brown was firm, calling the matter “private business between us.” He concluded, “Both drivers are in a great place and we just want to be able to set them up to be able to continue to race each other hard.”



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