McLaren CEO Zak Brown has defended the team’s decision to keep the details of Lando Norris’s disciplinary action private following his collision with teammate Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix.
The incident occurred in the opening corners of the Marina Bay race when Norris made contact with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and subsequently collided with Piastri’s McLaren. The contact allowed Norris to gain a position on his teammate, prompting an unhappy Piastri to comment over the radio, “That wasn’t very teamlike,” before asking, “So, are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?”
Ahead of the United States Grand Prix, Norris acknowledged he would face “repercussions until the end of the season.” Team Principal Andrea Stella later confirmed that a consequence had been determined and accepted by both drivers.
During a press conference in Austin, Brown addressed why the specifics of the consequence were not made public, citing competitive reasons. “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 explained. “We try to be as transparent as possible, but there’s a reason why engineering debriefs are only with teams… we can’t necessarily tell everyone everything, no different than our set up sheets aren’t very public.”
Brown referenced the team’s on-track code of conduct, known as the “Papaya Rules,” which he said has “taken on a bit of a life of its own.” He emphasized that the goal is to ensure the drivers race hard without making contact that could jeopardize the team’s results.
He also downplayed the severity of the collision, describing it as a “pretty minor incident” that occurred under chaotic and damp conditions at the start of the race. “It clearly wasn’t intentional,” Brown added. “We worked through with them different consequences for different situations. It was a pretty minor situation, so it’s a pretty minor consequence.”
When pressed again for details, Brown firmly declined, stating, “That’s private business between us. I know everyone is interested to know, but 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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