Norris takes full blame for collision with Piastri: I made 'a fool of myself'

MONTREAL - Lando Norris wasted no time in taking accountability after a crash with Oscar Piastri left him unable to finish the Canadian Grand Prix and risked severe damage for his McLaren teammate.

"I just misjudged it," Norris told F1TV's broadcast after the race. "It was all my mistake. I take full blame and I apologize to my whole team and to Oscar for attempting something like that."

Norris added that he had made "a fool" of himself as a result of the incident.

"McLaren is my family, I race for them," Norris told media. "Every single weekend, I try and do well for them, more than I often try and do well for myself. So when I let them down like this, and when I make a fool of myself in a moment like today, yeah, I have a lot of regret in something like that."

Norris was on the tail of Piastri, who was in fourth, in the later stages of the race, and the tension boiled over when the British driver sent a move down the inside of his teammate at the hairpin on Lap 66. Piastri was able to get the position back on the back straight, but Norris attempted to re-pass on the pit straight and miscalculated how much room he had on the inside. He ended up hitting the back of his teammate and colliding with the wall.

The British driver quickly got on the radio after the crash to say it was all his fault. He later approached Piastri, who was able to finish fourth under safety car conditions, in the media zone to say sorry.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also said he appreciated Norris' immediate accountability and noted that it wouldn't change McLaren's racing rules.

"This situation is a situation that we know is not acceptable," Stella said. "At the same time, we appreciate that Lando immediately owned it."

Stella added: "It doesn't change things because it's a misjudgement. It's just a misjudgement to the proximity of the car ahead. If Lando had a different reaction, then there would have been certainly serious conversations to (be) had."

Piastri expanded his lead in the drivers' standings to 22 points over Norris due to the latter's retirement from the race.