Oscar Piastri Issues Statement After Lando Norris Makes Telling Singapore GP Comment

Oscar Piastri has issued a statement after McLaren team-mate Lando Norris gave his verdict on their lap one collision at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Norris made contact with Piastri at turn two as he attempted to take evasive action away from Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

Piastri came away unscathed but lost the position to his team-mate, while Norris picked up minor front wing damage that did not require a pit stop.

Norris finished in third place, with his team-mate crossing the line in fourth.

Piastri, who now leads the Drivers' Championship by 22 points ahead of Norris, was bemused by the incident - and was less than happy when McLaren informed him they would be taking no action during the race, allowing Norris to keep the position.

"Mate, that's not fair," he told race engineer Tom Stallard. "Sorry, that's not fair. If he has to avoid another car by crashing into his team-mate, that's a pretty s**t job of avoiding."

Both drivers were asked about the incident post-race, with Norris telling reporters: "I might look at it and think there's something else I could have done or could have done better.

"Anyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing as I did. So I think if you fault me for just going up the inside and putting my car on the inside of a big gap, then you shouldn't be in Formula 1.

"I don't think there was anything wrong that I did. Of course, I misjudged a little bit how close I am to Max, but that's racing. Nothing happened otherwise."

Piastri was absent from McLaren's celebrations after they won the Constructors' Championship in Singapore.

That fuelled rumours of a possible rift between the two drivers, but the Australian was in fact still doing media duties during the celebrations.

And taking to Instagram on Monday, Piastri sent a message of congratulations to the team, writing: "Super proud of the whole team on what's been an amazing season. Plenty more fun to be had!"

With six races to go, the 'fun' Piastri refers to may well end up being a heated battle for the Drivers' Championship between himself and Norris.

Verstappen, who is 66 points behind the Australian, is not completely out of the fight, though McLaren believe they will once again have the fastest car in Brazil, Qatar and Abu Dhabi - tracks with more medium and high-speed corners which should theoretically better suit their package.

The Red Bull driver will therefore be looking to capitalise on any further issues between the two McLaren drivers in order to battle for his fifth consecutive championship.