How Norris's daring move ignited a friendly title race

After faint sparkles in the past 17 races, the dense humidity of the Singapore night sky was where this season's touchpaper was finally lit.

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Posing with the hundred or so team members in front of the McLaren garage, celebrating their inevitable constructors’ triumph, you wonder what emotions were running through the head of Oscar Piastri. For a man whose best quality is his serenity in the heat of battle, Piastri boiled over underneath his visor at Marina Bay. Prodded offline at turn three by teammate and title rival Lando Norris on lap one, the Australian vented his feelings over team radio to Tom Stallard, race engineer and former Olympic rower.

“So are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way? What’s the go-to there?” Piastri queried. Cue panic on the faces of team principal Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown on the pit wall. When informed that no intervention would occur, he was apoplectic: “That is not fair. I’m sorry, that is not fair.”

Stallard replied: “Oscar, we will have the opportunity to review together afterwards - focus on this race, mate. We can still get a good result here.” But Piastri was having none of it: “But if he [Norris] has to avoid another car by crashing into his teammate, then that is a pretty shit job of avoiding.”