Lando Norris issues apology for late-race Piastri collision
Lando Norris has already apologized to Oscar Piastri for initiating contact during the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix.
A challenging Canadian Grand Prix weekend ended in drama for Lando Norris, who retired in the final laps after colliding with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
The Briton took full responsibility for the collision on the radio after the race and made a point to apologise directly to Piastri in the press pen too.
Lando Norris owns up to Canadian GP collision
In the closing laps of the Canadian Grand Prix, several different strategies aligned for what promised to be a spicy finish.
In fourth, Piastri found himself under pressure from Norris behind while chasing Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
On Lap 66, Norris looked set to make a move on Piastri, diving inside at the Turn 10 hairpin before running wide on exit, prompting a drag race with Piastri to the final chicane.
The British racer dipped, Piastri maintaining fourth through the chicane but compromised on exit, affording Norris a run on exit.
As he closed on his Australian counterpart, he tagged Piastri’s rear wheel, ripping the front wing off before Norris smacked into the pit wall, coming to rest shortly after.
He quickly accepted responsibility, saying over the radio, “It’s all my bad, all my fault. Unlucky, sorry. Stupid from me.”
Piastri for his own part, retained his fourth place through to the chequered flag.
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Footage from the media pen after the race showed Norris approach Piastri, saying, “Sorry.”
A smile on his face, Piastri turned to shake Norris’ hand and say, “No, it’s fine. I mean, I ended up alright.”
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Norris offered a longer and more public-facing apology.
“No one to blame but myself,” he admitted, “so I apologise to the whole team and to Oscar as well for, yeah — for attempting something probably a bit too silly. Glad I didn’t ruin his race, and again, apologies to the team.”
On X, McLaren Racing CEO summed up the Canadian Grand Prix in a few short sentences, writing, “Appreciate the candor, Lando.”
Brown has been clear that, with two top-tier drivers battling for the title, it was likely that Norris and Piastri would collide with one another sooner or later — but Norris isn’t of a mind that he “got it out of the way.”
“Yeah, but you know, this was just more silly,” Norris said. “This wasn’t even like a… that’s racing. Silly from my part.”
Meanwhile, Piastri was willing to let the incident be water under the bridge.
“Obviously it’s not ideal for anyone,” he told Sky Sports.
“I haven’t actually seen the incident, so I don’t know what exactly happened, but yeah, if Lando’s taken full responsibility then that’s how it goes, I guess.
“Just a bit of a tricky race in general, and not an ideal finish.”
Piastri crossed the line in fourth. It was enough for him to retain his lead of the World Drivers’ Championship, with his lead over his teammate extending to 22 points.
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