Lando Norris just proved McLaren have created a serious Oscar Piastri problem with one Singapore radio message

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McLaren face a tense internal battle heading into the final quarter of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

There were smiling faces in the paddock at the Singapore Grand Prix as McLaren sealed their second consecutive constructors’ championship.

However, team principal Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown would have hoped for a more straightforward race to manage on Sunday.

Oscar Piastri outqualified teammate Lando Norris on Saturday and started directly ahead of him on the grid.

However, a brilliant start from the British driver saw him immediately leapfrog Andrea Kimi Antonelli and set his sights on Piastri.

He made contact with both the Australian and Max Verstappen, but came out of the corner in third and held onto that position until the chequered flag.

Piastri agreed with Brown’s view on the Norris incident, but clearly wasn’t happy with how it played out.

One radio message from Norris during the race highlighted the issue McLaren have created with their ‘papaya rules’ this season.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Lando Norris’ reaction to Oscar Piastri pit stop message speaks volumes about McLaren’s issues

During the Sky Sports F1 broadcast (5/10 1:49 pm), Norris’ engineer Will Joseph came on the team radio and said: “Lando, the gap to Oscar is 4.7 [seconds]. He’s going to have to pit soon to cover Leclerc.

“Are you willing to let Oscar pit the lap before you?”

Norris replied: “Yep, err no. I would not.”

Commentator David Croft responded to the interaction and said: “I was surprised that I heard a yes there. This is Monza all over again, and he’s not happy to give Oscar the first call this time around.

“I’m not surprised, to be honest, as it didn’t exactly work out for him at the time very well in Monza, and then they had to swap the positions around again.”

Martin Brundle added: “So, he’ll have a seven-lap advantage over Verstappen with these tyres, probably not as much as they’d hoped.

“Basically, by not letting Piastri pit first, it means Lando’s got to get the tyres on, but he doesn’t want all the fuss from Monza again. It’s the right time to bring that car in, as we see Piastri go into the lead.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Andrea Stella says Oscar Piastri’s Singapore Grand Prix comments were in the ‘heat of the moment’

Stella spoke to Sky Sports F1 after the race, and when asked about the incident between his two drivers, he explained: “First of all, we have to put everything into perspective. It’s comments from a driver in an F1 car, there’s the heat of the moment.

“The information that is available is just his point of view, and this is Lando moving on to him.

“I think, as usual, we have good conversations, we will build from there and come back stronger.

“This has been the whole process, as we said before, on building together a strong team, which the drivers are a great foundational part.”

Norris and Piastri had a good relationship at the start of the season, but outsiders have constantly questioned how long that can last as they both try and win the drivers’ championship.

Piastri was frustrated after being asked to hand back second place at Monza to Norris, and was equally angry on Sunday.

By the time he faced the media, he was much calmer, but whether he’ll restrain from being more aggressive against Norris during the final six races of the season is yet to be seen.