Should McLaren have removed Norris’ ‘repercussions’ after F1 US GP clash?

McLaren was at the forefront of Formula 1 media day ahead of this weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri revealed it had removed the ‘repercussions’ given to Lando Norris.

It came after Norris collided with Piastri on lap one of the Singapore Grand Prix, whilst he was making an overtake on his F1 title rival and team-mate for third at Marina Bay.

McLaren reviewed the incident afterwards and held Norris responsible, feeling he could have avoided the collision.

So, ahead of the following race, the United States Grand Prix, the team said Norris would receive a “minor consequence” for it. That was understood to be giving Piastri priority to choose the order of the two McLarens leaving the pitlane in qualifying.

But that was short lived as last weekend in the Austin sprint race the pair, who are top the two in the drivers’ standings, collided once again.

It came after Piastri attempted a cutback on Norris at Turn 1, lap one but as he did so, he was tagged by Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber, which was sandwiched between the Australian and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin at the apex.

Hulkenberg thus knocked Piastri into Norris, causing both McLaren drivers to retire. Piastri took a “degree of responsibility” and so the championship leader then added that “the consequences on Lando’s side have been removed”.

This comes amid what is now a three-way championship battle as Piastri leads Norris by 14 points with five rounds remaining, while third is the in-form Max Verstappen who is 40 off top.

So, with all of this in mind, our writers give their thoughts on the matter.

Jake Boxall-Legge: No ‘repercussions’ side-track is good news – now let’s enjoy the show

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images

For those hoping for a no-holds-barred title scrap between our trio of protagonists in Piastri, Norris and Verstappen, the removal of McLaren’s ‘repercussions’ is good news. Piastri accepted “a degree of responsibility” for his Austin move so, with both drivers having been in the dock, McLaren chose to wipe the slate clean.

McLaren has now cottoned onto the idea that Verstappen is a very real presence in this title fight. Thus, it makes no sense to tie one arm behind its back, even if those ‘repercussions’ were minor.

Like George Costanza’s meta-reference to Seinfeld’s TV series-within-a-TV series “Jerry”, it ‘was a show about nothing’. It’s good for everyone that all three drivers are effectively playing on level pegging – and hopefully they give us a title battle for the ages. History will likely not remember the context if it indeed does turn out to be a thriller, although the pressure is overwhelmingly on McLaren to ensure that its approach to managing its two drivers was justified.

Now, let’s enjoy what we have in front of us. When F1 inevitably unfurls another season characterised by single-driver dominance, which it will, we won’t want to regret not living in the moment of 2025’s three-way tussle.

Stuart Codling: “He’s not the world champion, he’s a very naughty boy”

Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

It’s pleasing to see that the denouement of the world championship may not play out like that scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and I don’t mean the bit where they all have a singalong while being crucified.

Now that both Norris and Piastri know what will happen when they punch holes in the ‘papaya rules’, the onus is on them to play nicely. Wiping the slate now clean – it was understood the ‘repercussions’ against Norris were due to be in force for more than one race – is a proportionate righting of the wrong at Turn 1 in Austin.

There were those – including McLaren’s PR machine – who wanted to cast the incident as Hulkenberg’s fault. Whereas anyone with a functional grasp of the dynamics of motor racing will grasp that the karting-style cutback Piastri attempted might have worked at most other circuits (and indeed might have worked at Circuit of the Americas at any other time than lap one), but was doomed to end in contact at that point.

If we were to express culpability for the accident in terms of percentages, Piastri’s would be proportionately greater than Hulkenberg’s, Alonso’s, and Norris’. Tempting as it may be to cast Norris as an entirely innocent party, he was where he was because he was trying to compensate for a poor start.

The fact is that racing drivers are like children. Given any instruction or set of rules they will instinctively test the boundaries – not necessarily of the rules themselves but of the willingness of the grown-ups to enforce them.

Spare the rod, spoil the child. McLaren’s leaders have shown due willingness to use the stick. It’s the drivers’ fault if it has to come out again.

Oleg Karpov: McLaren must stop meddling in the F1 drivers’ fight

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

Overcomplicated. Unnecessary. And, quite frankly, even a bit damaging for F1. McLaren bosses insist they allow their drivers to race, yet when every move is analysed frame-by-frame by your own team, it’s hard to race with a clear mind. Both Norris and Piastri are mentally robust enough to deal with the pressure – otherwise you don’t reach the point of being in contention for the biggest prize in the racing world – but I wonder if that supervision is playing on their minds every time they get in their cars now.

What happened in Monza was borderline. What happened after Singapore was very hard to understand, as Norris was told off for doing what a title contender is supposed to do. What followed after Austin was either ridiculous or a sign that common sense had finally prevailed.

Maybe McLaren didn’t act on Piastri’s actions at the start of last Saturday’s sprint, but simply admitted it was time to drop that approach altogether – because when Verstappen is closing in with a sword, there’s no need to remind your drivers not to crash. One DNF for either of them would let the Dutchman get dangerously close – and he doesn’t need a velvet-textured invitation card to come to the party. He’ll punish every mistake.

Perhaps everyone at McLaren now understands that holding back its own drivers can be more damaging than letting them race as they know how, because that’s what they’ve been doing their whole lives. Having a bit of trust in your employees doesn’t hurt any organisation.

However, it could be just another twist in McLaren’s pursuit of a “fair” fight for the championship, which was unachievable in the first place and has already become impossible after Norris’ DNF at Zandvoort.

This needs to stop – also for the sake of F1 fans who want to see great drivers battle for a great prize without being held accountable for every misstep.