Spotlight now on McLaren’s Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri in drivers’ championship

SINGAPORE – With McLaren securing their second consecutive constructors’ title at the Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix on Oct 5, fans will wait to see if the gloves will finally come off for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who are locked in a fierce battle for the drivers’ championship.

With six rounds remaining, Piastri leads the drivers’ standings with 336 points, with Norris 22 adrift, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is 63 behind in third.

As the title fight heats up, the action at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Oct 5 offered a glimpse of what might unfold. The teammates shared a tense moment on the opening lap after Norris, who started fifth, made contact with Piastri in the middle of Turn 3 as he overtook him.

That prompted Piastri to question the team over the radio: “So, are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?”

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown explained post-race that the moment was a “nail-biter”.

Praising his drivers, the American said: “They have driven brilliantly all season. You can’t win the constructors’ without two awesome racing drivers.

“As you can see, we are letting them race. That was a bit more of a nail-biter there, but they race hard, they race clean, they race to win.

“A lot of racing to go and hopefully a lot more victories for both of them.”

Winning their second consecutive constructors’ title had appeared inevitable for McLaren, who needed just 13 points in Singapore to seal their crown.

At the Marina Bay, Norris and Piastri delivered, finishing third and fourth respectively to earn 27 points, making it the first time that a constructors’ crown has been secured in the Republic since the night race made its debut in 2008.

Mercedes’ George Russell won the race in a dominant drive from start to finish, while Verstappen fended off the McLaren pair to place second.

McLaren now have 650 points, with Mercedes (325) and Ferrari (298) second and third respectively.

Norris said: “It was slippery. It was still wet in a lot of places. But it’s racing. I put it on the inside, I had a small correction, but nothing more than that.

“It was good racing. I wish there was a few more overtaking opportunities today, but I felt like I did everything I could today and I’m happy with that.”

Piastri told Sky Sports: “It is a great night for the whole team, but just not the race I was looking for. Tonight is a combination of a lot of hard work, not just this year but lots of years, so it’s a really proud moment for me to be a part of that.”

This is McLaren’s first successful constructors’ title defence since Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Gerhard Berger powered them to four consecutive crowns between 1988 and 1991.

Their victory in Singapore also saw them match the record for the fastest coronation set by Red Bull in 2023, when they claimed their sixth constructors’ championship with six races to spare.

Since pairing up two years ago, Piastri and Norris have established a formidable partnership, ending McLaren’s 26-year wait for the constructors’ title when they were crowned champions in 2024.

Norris said: “Another constructor feels the same as the first because to get the first was quite an achievement.

“If you look at where we were just three years ago, we’ve overtaken every team in terms of development and in a time when it’s almost harder to do that ever with more restrictions and less wind tunnel time.

“In a time when it should be more difficult than ever to dominate, it’s exactly what the team have done and they’ve given us by a long way the best car on the grid.”

They have been in imperious form this season, with 12 wins from 18 races – seven of which were 1-2 finishes.

Both drivers look in a good position to become McLaren’s first world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

Norris added: “We’ve also done very well as a team in terms of drivers, between Oscar and myself pushing each other and delivering every single weekend... you don’t see that on any other team, so we’re also very proud of that as drivers.”