Toto Wolff may have fired subtle dig at ‘good boy’ Lando Norris after US Grand Prix comments

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Lando Norris admitted before the United States Grand Prix that he was in the wrong when he clashed with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in Singapore. But Toto Wolff may not be convinced by his comments.

Norris confirmed on Thursday that he would face ‘repercussions’ until the end of the season after McLaren reviewed the lap-one incident, where he banged wheels with Piastri after hitting the rear of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.

The British driver said ‘there was potential to try and avoid’ the contact and reiterated that he ‘can’t afford’ to be making such mistakes – both for his own title ambitions and Piastri’s.

Piastri, currently 22 points ahead, added that Norris had taken ‘responsibility’ for failing to respect McLaren’s philosophy. During the race, he unsuccessfully lobbied to be given back the place.

Toto Wolff dismisses ‘good boy’ statements in F1 title battles

Toto Wolff has experience of managing two drivers who are competing for the title. As he acknowledged in an interview with Sky Sports after FP1, things got ‘heated’ between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The relationship completely broke down as they went head-to-head for three straight seasons, a period that included three collisions and two Abu Dhabi title-deciders.

Danica Patrick asked: “We were talking earlier about Oscar, Lando, McLaren, rules and team orders, driver number one and driver number two. Do you think it’s better to have a clear driver number one and driver number two, or would you rather have two number ones fighting it out?”

• READ MORE: Charles Leclerc names who he thinks will win 2025 F1 title between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris

Wolff replied: “We’ve had either. We always give drivers the same opportunity. We had the rivalry between Nico and Lewis, which got heated over time.

“Alpha drivers are always going to get their elbows out, whether you put statements out saying, ‘I’m going to be a good boy’ or not. When it matters, if you want to be a world champion, you just have to go for it.”

Wolff’s ‘good boy’ remark may have been a subtle dig at Norris after his comments on Thursday. He could also have been talking in hypotheticals, but that would be quite a coincidence, particularly given that Patrick explicitly mentioned Norris and Piastri in her question.

Lando Norris’ wheel-to-wheel skills have been questioned by Red Bull engineer

Wolff hasn’t been hesitant to comment directly on McLaren’s management. After the Italian GP in September, where Piastri complied with a team order and gave second place back to Norris, he said they had set a difficult ‘precedent’.

Norris feels he has ‘nothing to lose’ in the title battle, according to Timo Glock, after his car failure at Zandvoort cost him 18 points. He’s cut the gap down by 12 since.

While he publicly indicated that this driving in Singapore was overly risky, it may be that he needs to gamble if he’s going to overturn what is still a significant lead for his teammate.

One Red Bull engineer questioned Norris’ wheel-to-wheel abilities off the record before Singapore. Given the extremely close gaps at the front, and within McLaren, these could be crucial in determining the title outcome.