David Croft says Oscar Piastri wants ‘payback’ from McLaren after following controversial rule

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Oscar Piastri criticised McLaren publicly for perhaps the first time at the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend. And David Croft has a theory as to why.

Piastri qualified third at Marina Bay, two spots ahead of teammate Lando Norris. But Norris charged through at the start, knocking his teammate wide after tagging the rear of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

The Australian asked his team if they were ‘cool’ with Norris making such an aggressive manoeuvre. They reviewed the incident and decided they wouldn’t invert the cars, which Piastri said was ‘not fair’.

Speaking in the media pen afterwards, Piastri said he needed to review the onboard footage before he could comment. But it seems McLaren’s meetings before the United States GP could be tense.

Oscar Piastri expects ‘payback’ for letting Lando Norris through at Monza

During his commentary, David Croft suggested that Piastri is ‘starting to lose a bit of patience’ with McLaren. The bulk of the team orders have fallen his way.

The most controversial of these arguably came at the Italian GP, when he had to concede second place to Norris. McLaren ruled that the Briton’s slow pit stop was cause to swap the cars, though it’s worth noting that he’d allowed his teammate to undercut beforehand.

Piastri also granted Norris a slipstream in qualifying to ensure he reached Q3. He expects ‘payback’ for these selfless deeds, but it hasn’t arrived.

• READ MORE: Damon Hill shares his stance on ‘feisty’ Lando Norris’ clash with Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix

Motorsport journalist Filip Cleeren adds that Piastri was indeed ‘deeply uncomfortable’ with the instruction during the Italian GP.

“This is Oscar Piastri, who I think is starting to lose a bit of patience with some of what’s coming his way this season,” Sky Sports commentator Croft said.

“Go back to Monza, where he’s asked to swap places, in qualifying at Monza where he’s asked to give his championship rival a tow to get him into Q3. He’s complied with that, he’s done what the team have asked.

“Now I think he wants a little bit of payback for him. I can hear his frustrations and a little bit of anger in his voice there.”

Martin Brundle and David Coulthard disagree over Lando Norris’ overtake on Oscar Piastri

David Coulthard says Piastri made a ‘compelling’ argument over the radio. When McLaren attributed the collision to Norris’ evasive action against Verstappen, the championship leader suggested he was out of control.

Coulthard fears McLaren have ‘meddled’ too much in the battle between their drivers. They want to be in a position where both of them see the final outcome as fair.

However, Martin Brundle saluted Norris for a ‘punchy’ overtake. He didn’t think Piastri had grounds for complaint.

But he did acknowledge that the ‘ground rules’ have just changed at McLaren. With the constructors’ now sealed, any further wheel-to-wheel fights could be markedly more aggressive.