McLaren driver Lando Norris has sincerely apologized to his teammate Oscar Piastri and the entire team for causing a “silly” collision during the concluding laps of the Canadian Grand Prix. Norris readily accepted full responsibility for the incident.
The contact occurred while the two drivers were competing for fourth position near the end of the race in Montreal. This marked the first instance this season where the McLaren teammates have come into contact on track, a scenario the team management had previously conceded was bound to happen at some point given their close competition.
Having just swapped places on the preceding lap, Norris attempted to re-pass Piastri on the inside of the main straight. However, he significantly misjudged the maneuver, clipping Piastri`s rear tire. The contact immediately caused race-ending damage to Norris`s car, leading to his retirement. While Piastri`s car also sustained damage, the Australian driver was able to pit under the subsequent Safety Car and successfully maintain his fourth-place finish.
Norris promptly took blame over the team radio, saying, “I`m sorry. All my bad. All my fault. Stupid from me.” He maintained this apologetic tone in post-race interviews, offering personal apologies to Piastri and addressing the media.
“No one to blame but myself,” Norris told reporters, adding that he apologized to the team and Piastri for trying something “probably a bit too silly.” He expressed relief that he hadn`t completely ruined Piastri`s race. Speaking to written media, he conveyed significant regret, stating, “Rule number one is not to make contact with your team-mate, and that`s what I did.” He added, “I`m not proud of myself, I feel bad, so apologies to all of them.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown had commented earlier in the season that contact between the two drivers was “definitely a matter of when, rather than if.” However, Norris characterized this particular incident as “just more silly,” distinguishing it from a typical “that`s racing” scenario.
This collision resulted in Norris`s first retirement since the Austrian Grand Prix last June and widened the points gap between him and Piastri in the Drivers` Championship standings.
Oscar Piastri commented on the incident, acknowledging that it was “obviously not ideal for anyone” at McLaren. He accepted Norris`s full responsibility for the collision, stating that he didn`t believe there were “any bad intentions involved,” viewing it as simply unfortunate. Piastri described their battle before the contact as tough but clean and expressed his appreciation that the team allows them to race, stating he doesn`t anticipate the incident altering this approach.
Formula 1 pundits offered their analysis of the collision. Nico Rosberg praised Norris`s initial move into the hairpin but found the subsequent mistake “very strange” and a “big mistake,” noting that Norris persisted despite there appearing to be “no gap.” Danica Patrick pondered whether desperation played a role and suggested that Norris “ran out of room,” concluding that a move to the right might have been the better option.
