McLaren Questions Red Bull-RB Tactics After ‘Peculiar’ Fastest Lap at Singapore GP

McLaren calls for scrutiny of Red Bull-RB partnership following unusual fastest lap

McLaren demands investigation into the "unusual" fastest lap attempt and urges a review of the Red Bull-RB collaboration.

McLaren has urged for an examination of the connection between Red Bull and RB following an incident where Daniel Ricciardo prevented Lando Norris from achieving the fastest lap point during the F1 Singapore Grand Prix.

By achieving the quickest lap on the 48th circuit, Norris was on track to reduce Max Verstappen's championship lead by eight points as he headed towards victory in Sunday’s race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, finishing in front of the Red Bull driver.

Red Bull's affiliated team, RB, made a strategic decision to bring Ricciardo into the pits towards the end of the race for a set of new soft tires. The Australian driver then achieved the fastest lap during the final lap. Although Ricciardo was not in a position to earn a point due to being outside the top-10, he managed to take the fastest lap point away from Norris and McLaren, which in turn supported Verstappen and Red Bull's championship ambitions.

McLaren's team boss, Andrea Stella, called the decision "unusual" but acknowledged that he couldn't confirm the motive behind the attempt for the fastest lap.

"This is an important issue. When you bring up the concept of sportsmanship, it requires you to handle it with the level of responsibility that I am aiming for," said Stella.

"I'm not aware of the details; I only observed that Racing Bulls aimed for the fastest lap and succeeded. As for discussing sportsmanship and related topics, I believe it would be inappropriate. We should simply acknowledge that they secured the fastest lap."

"And as part of a long-term discussion, we must ensure that the sport allows teams to operate independently at all times, whether at the track or in the factory. This is crucial because it's a Constructors' Championship and a Drivers' Championship, not a team alliance competition. Therefore, this issue must be thoroughly examined."

"Currently, I lack any evidence to claim that Racing Bulls aimed for the fastest lap to aid Red Bull; I simply find it somewhat unusual. It was unexpected."

"I didn't expect Racing Bull's main goal in the Singapore race to be achieving the quickest lap time."

"Simultaneously, I feel a great deal of compassion, encouragement, and camaraderie with Daniel, which makes me pleased that he can include this fastest lap in his achievements."

With six races left in the season, Norris trails Verstappen by 52 points, and McLaren is ahead of Red Bull by 41 points in the constructors' championship.

The CEO of McLaren Racing, Zak Brown, who has previously stated that Formula 1 should prohibit teams from having the same owner, mentioned he will once more address concerns regarding 'B-teams'.

Brown mentioned to SiriusXM that he found the A/B-team sports activity to be surprisingly acceptable, despite his initial belief that it was not permitted. He noted that this occurrence is not unprecedented and is likely to happen again in the future.

"I’ve discussed this before and I believe it shows that it indeed occurs, because I don't think you would have taken that pit stop to aim for that."

“It won’t benefit anyone, which I believe highlights the problem related to that subject.”

Daniel Ricciardo's quickest lap is being seen as his last in Formula 1, as there are expectations that the Australian will be replaced by Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson before the United States Grand Prix next month.

RB team principal Laurent Mekies revealed that the Singapore race "might have been Daniel's final race" and mentioned that the team "wanted to let him enjoy it and finish with the fastest lap".

Daniel Ricciardo, who was let go by McLaren at the conclusion of 2022, humorously remarked that he anticipates a holiday gift from Red Bull.

He mentioned to Sky Sports F1 that a part of him—though not intending any disrespect towards Lando—wishes for Max to win by just one point, as it would likely mean a very generous Christmas gift for himself.

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