McLaren Formula One Team Principal Andrea Stella described the Lando Norris incident with Oscar Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix as “expensive”.
Norris ran behind his teammates and made his first turn on lap 67 of the race at Circuit Jills Villeneuve.
The British driver was blamed for the incident and quickly apologised to the team’s radio.
Norris told race engineer Will Joseph: “Yeah, sorry, my fault. It’s my fault. It’s my fault. It’s stupid from me.”
This is the first time a McLaren driver has collided since he became a teammate in the beginning of 2023.
McLaren’s top management, Stella and Zach Brown, admitted earlier this year that driver-to-driver incidents are inevitable given they are fighting for the title.
When asked for an opinion on the incident, Stella told Sky Sports:
“This is a very clear principle and there is no doubt that we need to review. At the same time, it was a contact that took place due to a false judgment and Landor misunderstood the distance to the vehicle in front of him, so there was no malicious intent to say.
“Lando quickly owned and took responsibility for what we appreciated, but certainly was responsible for something for us to discuss and review. The principles are already in place.
“I think our drivers have something to learn more, and we’re going to race again.”
The incident was costly for Norris’ hopes of a Formula One title.
When Piastri escaped unharmed, the gap between the pair was 22 points after 10 races.
“It’s definitely a misjudgment that sacrifices Rand quite a bit in the championship,” Stella added.
“We were trying to sacrifice more points for the team. It’s already costing it for the team. It’s definitely an incident that shouldn’t happen.”