McLaren still have not said whether Lando Norris will face internal consequences for taking Oscar Piastri out of the Singapore Sprint, as the flashpoint will spark conversation in Austin as to whether the Brit should be penalised.
The stewards took no action over the final-lap contact at Turn 5 and declared that "both drivers had contributed to the incident." Piastri retired, while Norris carried on to finish eighth. That gave McLaren a single point instead of the nine it would have scored for fourth and fifth, that could cost them millions in prize money.
Andrea Stella has made clear the matter is not closed at McLaren and told reporters that apologies alone cannot fix it. The team planned further talks during the week off before the next triple-header begins in Austin this week.
Photo: FOM
How McLaren punished Norris in 2025
There is a clear template to how McLaren should proceed. At the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, Norris passed Piastri for third on lap one by going down the inside of Turn 3 and banging wheels with his teammate. Piastri asked the team to swap the cars back, but McLaren refused.
The consequences only came out two weeks later. On the Thursday in Austin, Norris surprised the paddock by revealing he would face "repercussions" that could affect him until the end of the season. Zak Brown, who has been left red faced by the latest coming together, played the punishment down and would not say what it was.
It was a pretty minor situation, so it's a pretty minor consequence.
Brown told Sky Sports F1 the sanction would be "marginal" and that the team would have "zero interference" on a grand prix Sunday, and that the consequences were understood to be sporting ones. They were believed to be allowing Piastri choose whether to leave the garage before or after Norris in the final part of qualifying, and that this was meant to last for the rest of the season.
Sanction gone within half a weekend
The penalty barely got going. At the start of the 2025 Austin Sprint, Piastri turned into Nico Hülkenberg's Sauber at the first corner and then crashed into Norris, taking both McLarens out. After reviewing the crash, the team wiped the slate clean.
"The consequences on Lando's side have been removed," Piastri confirmed before the Mexico City Grand Prix. Norris never said what the sanction had been, but he admitted it had hurt him.
It was certainly a disadvantage. I would never choose it.
Why Austin 2026 is different
Singapore was the sixth and final Sprint weekend of the 2026 season while the United States Grand Prix this weekend follows the traditional format: three practice sessions, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday 25 October.
If McLaren use the same tool again, the first test would come straight away in Saturday qualifying. There would be no Sprint beforehand that could produce a reversal like last year's. After Austin come Mexico on 1 November, São Paulo on 8 November, then Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
The stakes have changed as well. Last year, Norris went into Austin 22 points behind Piastri in a title fight between teammates. This time, Kimi Antonelli leads the championship by 102 points over George Russell. McLaren's main concern is the constructors' standings, where Red Bull are now only seven points behind.