Has Singapore inflicted ‘irrevocable change’ on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri?

Sky Sports Formula 1 pundit Martin Brundle has hailed Lando Norris’ bold move to third place at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix as “brilliant” while also admitting that it was the kind of maneuver that could “irrevocably change” the McLaren team going forward.

But if that’s the case, then Brundle has also argued that it may very well be time for the team to let its drivers loose to battle all the way to the season finale.

Brundle: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri relationship to “irrevocably change”

An hour before the start of the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, a rainstorm soaked the track, leaving many onlookers to wonder if that could change the track conditions come the start of the race.

While much of the circuit looked dry, damp patches remained, and when McLaren’s Lando Norris saw a gap, he launched his McLaren MCL39 straight into it, hoping to make up the track position he’d lost in qualifying. He managed to make the move from fifth to third stick – though perhaps at the cost of some intra-team understanding.

While he made the move, Norris briefly collided with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, which rebounded him into teammate Oscar Piastri.

Piastri narrowly avoided ending his race in the wall before asking the team if they intended to address the incident. The team declined to do so on track, telling a frustrated Piastri they would debrief after the race.

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Writing about the incident in his post-race column for Sky Sports, former driver turned pundit Martin Brundle has made the case that this incident is sure to alter the intra-team dynamic — which makes it a great opportunity for the team to allow its drivers to race.

Of Norris’ bold start, Brundle writes that “It was opportunistic and quite brilliant from him, but on the damp surface and having tagged the back of Verstappen’s Red Bull and damaged his front wing, he continued his elbows-out overtake by bouncing off team-mate Piastri, who was not impressed to say the least.

“The race stewards were less concerned on the opening lap, and no penalty was applied.”

But, as Brundle writes, Piastri instantly appealed to the team to claim that Norris had broken its “no contact” rules — only for McLaren to decline to address the incident until the post-race debrief.

“It would have been a feisty post-race team debrief, and I have no doubt whatsoever that the dynamics between the two McLaren drivers will irrevocably change going forward,” Brundle wrote.

“It was just a matter of time.”

But this now opens up a great opportunity for both drivers. With the World Constructors’ Championship sorted in favor of McLaren, this could be an ideal opportunity to allow the drivers’ fight to play out as it will.

“Perhaps McLaren should now just let their two drivers duke it out, gloves off, between themselves with zero interference,” Brundle suggested.

“Any nuclear fallout will be tempered by the need to finish races, score points, avoid FIA in-race penalties, avoid Verstappen catching the pair of them, and running out of the latest specification of parts as the team focuses on 2026.”

McLaren informed media that there will indeed be an internal review of the incident in Singapore. However, there is no indication of how the team will choose to proceed heading into the United States Grand Prix.

Read next: Winners and losers from the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix