Otmar Szafnauer believes McLaren should introduce a contractual bonus linked to its Constructors’ Championship position after the collision between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri during the Singapore Sprint cost the team eight valuable points.
The former Racing Point and Alpine team principal argues that financial incentives could discourage drivers from taking unnecessary risks against their team-mates, particularly when a potential overtake offers little benefit to the team but could have serious consequences for its championship position.
McLaren loses eight points after Norris-Piastri Singapore Sprint clash
McLaren experienced one of the worst scenarios any Formula 1 team can face during the Singapore Sprint when its two drivers collided on the final lap, dramatically reducing the team’s points haul.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had been running fourth and fifth respectively, positions that would have delivered nine points for McLaren. However, contact between the two drivers dropped Norris to eighth and Piastri to 14th, leaving the team with just one point instead.
The incident therefore cost McLaren eight points in a single moment, turning a potentially valuable result into a frustrating outcome for the team.
The collision was triggered by an overly ambitious move from reigning world champion Lando Norris, prompting an angry reaction from team principal Andrea Stella.
The Italian described the incident as “unacceptable” and reprimanded both drivers, privately and publicly, following the race.
Otmar Szafnauer proposes a contract clause for McLaren drivers
Andrea Stella has subsequently received an unusual piece of advice from former fellow team principal Otmar Szafnauer, who now works as a television commentator.
Speaking on a recent episode of the High Performance Racing podcast, Szafnauer suggested that the most effective way to protect a team against similar incidents would be to introduce a specific financial incentive into both drivers’ contracts.
“It’s the last lap, you’re not improving our position in the championship. Even if you swap positions, it’s the same for us. It’s the wrong decision,” Otmar Szafnauer explained, considering the situation from a team management perspective.
“And the only reason he did it was to gain one more point than his team-mate. But that’s not the point. You have to make that clear to them.”
Szafnauer’s argument is that a late-race battle between team-mates can make sense from an individual driver’s perspective while offering no advantage to the team in the Constructors’ Championship.
When both cars are already in strong points-scoring positions, the potential reward for the organisation is limited. The consequences of a collision, however, can be substantial.
Szafnauer wants drivers’ bonuses tied to Constructors’ Championship results
The 62-year-old former team principal believes the answer is to ensure that drivers have a direct financial interest in protecting the team’s overall championship position.
“You have to link that position in the Constructors’ Championship to a substantial bonus in both drivers’ contracts, so they’ll think twice before doing things like that,” Otmar Szafnauer said.
“If the team loses, they lose too.”
Under such an arrangement, both drivers would have a financial incentive to prioritise the team’s Constructors’ Championship result rather than focusing exclusively on their individual finishing positions.
Szafnauer believes this would make drivers reconsider risky manoeuvres that offer only a marginal personal benefit but expose the team to a potentially much larger loss.
Why Szafnauer understands the Norris-Piastri rivalry
Despite criticising the decision-making behind the incident, Otmar Szafnauer acknowledged that the competitive instinct responsible for such situations is an inherent part of Formula 1.
“They’re drivers: if they see a gap and they’re behind a team-mate they think they can overtake, their thought is, ‘I’ve got one lap left to pass him,'” he explained.
“And if they don’t have that clause in their contract, I understand why they do it. They’re drivers.”
His comments highlight the difficulty faced by team principals managing two competitive drivers. Both want to maximise their own results, but the team must also protect its collective interests, especially when valuable championship points are at stake.
For McLaren, the Singapore Sprint collision demonstrated how quickly that conflict can become costly. A situation in which both cars were heading towards a solid result ended with eight points lost and renewed scrutiny of how Andrea Stella manages the rivalry between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Szafnauer’s proposal offers a financial solution rather than a purely disciplinary one: make the drivers’ rewards depend partly on the team’s success, so that avoiding unnecessary contact becomes valuable to them personally as well.
Leave a Reply