Brown: Norris repercussions for Singapore ‘probably won’t be noticed’

The contact came at the start in Singapore when Norris made an aggressive move from fifth on the grid, tagging the rear of Max Verstappen before brushing wheels with Piastri as he moved into third.

While stewards took no action, Piastri was left frustrated that McLaren didn’t order a swap after the incident.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 in Austin, Brown clarified that the measures are purely sporting and minor.

“We review every race. Lando and Oscar had a bit of a touch there,” he said.

“The start of a Formula 1 race is pretty manic and it was clearly not intentional.

“But we don’t want our cars touching, so we laid out how we want to go racing at the start of the year and so there is a little bit of a sporting repercussion in lieu of what happened.”

Brown reiterated that the team considered the moment a normal racing incident.

“It’s marginal, it’s consistent with what happened, which was a racing incident at the end of the day, at the start of a Grand Prix on a track which was somewhat damp,” he said.

“It wasn’t intentional. But [the repercussion] is very marginal, it probably won’t be noticed.

“Lando and Oscar know what it is, which is what’s most important.”

He added that McLaren’s approach to letting both drivers fight for the title remains unchanged.

“Of course, we want to be transparent with our fans,” Brown said.

“We’re doing it the hard way, trying to let both guys race for the championship.

“The easy way out would be to have a one-two as some teams do, but that’s not how McLaren want to go racing.”

Norris confirmed ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix that he would face internal “repercussions until the end of the year,” admitting the team had held him accountable.

“It’s not like I’ve got away with anything,” he said.

“Of course, repercussions for myself but otherwise the engagement and how we go racing is the same as it’s always been.”

Despite the small internal sanction, Norris led the times in Friday’s only practice session in Austin, with Piastri third fastest as McLaren’s title battle continues.