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The British driver claims that "every competitor on the starting lineup" would have attempted the move that sparked renewed tension between himself and fellow driver the Australian during the recent race.

The Briton collided with his teammate on the exit of turn three at the Singapore circuit after a bump with Max Verstappen's Red Bull caused him to slide.

This incident could potentially disrupt the well-managed harmony that the British team has managed to maintain between both competitors through strategic leadership.

Entering the event, the British driver was behind his teammate by 25 points in the points table, and reduced that deficit by only three points after taking the final podium spot behind winner George Russell and the Red Bull star, with his teammate close behind in fourth position.

Driver Perspectives

The Briton maintained he had done nothing wrong in passing Piastri.

"Every driver on the grid would have attempted what I did," he stated. "Should you fault me for going for a big opportunity, you shouldn't be in Formula 1.

"My car was slightly too close to Verstappen, but that's racing. No major incident occurred, I'm confident I would have ended up ahead of Piastri anyway because he had the less favorable part of the circuit on the outside.

"Naturally I need to review it and the worst scenario I want is collision with my racing partner. I am the one who must avoid such situations. I would endanger my position just as much if similar things happened.

"I will examine it but the governing body obviously thought it was fine and the McLaren did, as well."

Norris denied he had been overly aggressive with Piastri. "I touched Max," he explained, "so I wasn't aggressive with my teammate."

McLaren's Response

The Australian showed unhappiness about the collision. He said over the team radio that the team's decision to take no action about it was "unjust."

After the race, he was more measured, stating he needed to watch the situation before making additional statements.

"The primary issue is two cars coming together," he noted. "That's never what we desire, so I'll analyze it in greater detail."

The Australian has previously been the competitor to suffer in at least two controversial situations this season.

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, he was the team's frontrunner initially but Norris was permitted to use a alternative approach to beat his teammate, a choice that rival teams have scrutinized.

And in Italy, Piastri was instructed to let Norris back past for P2 after the British driver was delayed by a slow pit stop. He complained that he thought there had been an understanding that a slow pit stop was just part of racing that had to be accepted, but complied regardless.

Internally, he was unhappy about that situation, and he and the squad held discussions to resolve it.

But when asked after Sunday's race whether he had worries that his teammate might be receiving preferential treatment, the Australian responded: "No."

Did he believe the squad had been equitable throughout the championship?

"Ultimately, affirmative," Piastri stated. "Could things have been better at specific moments? Yes, but finally it's a learning process with the entire team and I'm extremely happy that the intentions are very well meaning, if that is understandable."

Team Leadership

Team principal the Italian commented: "We will conduct thorough reviews, productive conversations and, like after Canada, we'll return more resilient and more cohesive."

The team principal stated that although the team had analyzed the incident in its immediate aftermath, "the collision is, in reality, a result of different circumstances that occurred between Norris and Verstappen."

Stella added: "Oscar made some statements while he was in the cockpit but that's the type of character that we expect from our drivers. They have to make their position clear, that's what we ask of them.

"The team's review needs to be very detailed, highly methodical, it needs to consider the viewpoint of our two drivers, and then we will form a common opinion upon which we will see whether we can simply validate our initial interpretation or there's additional factors that we should decide.

"Every time we begin our discussions with the drivers, we always remind ourselves, as a premise: 'This is difficult'.

"Since this is the single area in which, when you race together, in fact you can't have exactly the same interest for the both competitors, because they seek to achieve their personal goals. This is a core concept of the approach we take at the team.

"We need to be accurate, because there's a lot at stake. That's not just the championship points, but it's also the trust of our competitors in the manner we function as a squad, and this is, if anything, even more foundational than the championship standings."

Championship Achievement

The controversy deflected attention from McLaren winning the constructors' championship for the second year running.

It is the team's tenth team championship, placing them above Williams in the historical rankings into second place after leaders the Italian team, who have claimed it 16 times since the championship's inception in 1958.

This achievement represents one of the quickest instances a squad has done this. It matches Red Bull's feat in winning with six races to go in last season, although that was a 22-race season compared with 24 this season.

McLaren's advantage has diminished as the season heads into its concluding phase. That is partly because to the characteristics of the three most recent circuits not suiting its strengths, and partly because McLaren turned off the upgrade process earlier, while their rivals still have new parts coming to their vehicles.

That decision by McLaren was rooted in the reality that they were experiencing diminishing returns in improving this car, common when a concept has such an advantage at the beginning of a championship, and that they wanted to make certain they were well prepared for the following season.

The British driver, though, is fully conscious of the scale of his team's achievement, and the remarkable turnaround they have shown under Stella and chief executive officer Zak Brown from just over two years ago, when they started the previous championship near the rear of the grid.

"Another title is a great thing," Norris commented. "If you consider where we were three years ago, we have outperformed every team in terms of progress in a period when it is harder to do so with more restrictions and reduced testing.

"At a time when it should be more difficult than before to dominate, that's exactly what the squad has accomplished and given us, by a significant margin, the best car on the grid.

"It's consistently a very nice thing to say. It always brings satisfaction on your expression. But we've additionally performed very well as a squad in terms of competitors, between Piastri and myself {pushing each other