McLaren secured back-to-back F1 constructors' championships at the Singapore Grand Prix, but the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit will be remembered for other things at the papaya team.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri clashed on the opening lap, with the latter furious at the contact and subsequent decision not to intervene.
The drama spilt into the post-race celebrations for the team with two conspiracies going viral. McLaren has rejected both.
George Russell eased home to a dominant victory under the lights in Singapore, and Max Verstappen further ate into Piastri and Norris' advantage over him in the F1 drivers' standings.
Here is how media from around the world reacted to the eighteenth round of the F1 season, the Singapore Grand Prix.
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🇬🇧 The Times - Singapore Grand Prix: Oscar Piastri fumes at Lando Norris after collision
British broadsheet The Times focused on Piastri's anger over team radio in the aftermath of being hit by Norris on the first lap.
The Australian had numerous exchanges with race engineer Tom Stallard after the McLaren team-mates had contact, with the F1 drivers' championship leader labelling the Woking-based squad's decision not to interfere "not fair" as he made his feelings clear.
Piastri adopted a more conciliatory tone during his post-race media obligations, insisting he needed to "review" the footage before coming to any conclusions.
🇳🇱 De Telegraaf - Max Verstappen and modest team boss Laurent Mekies are a golden combination for Red Bull: 'The progress is spectacular'
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf shone a spotlight on the rapid recovery of Red Bull under the leadership of new team principal Laurent Mekies.
Max Verstappen took second place under the lights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, capping off a four-round run of two second positions and two victories — a far cry from the miserable end to the first part of the season, when he could only muster ninth in Hungary.
The article reflected on what has changed at the six-time constructors' champions since Mekies took over from Christian Horner after the British Grand Prix.
🇪🇸 El PaÃs - Russell shines and McLaren breathes life into the Singapore GP
Spanish outlet El PaÃs emphasised the brilliance of Russell's victory, the fifth of his career, as the Mercedes comfortably led from lights to flag in the Southeast Asian city-state.
It also highlighted how McLaren and its intra-team drama provided the biggest talking point of the evening when Piastri and Norris clashed at Turn 3, perhaps somewhat overshadowing its second F1 constructors' title on the bounce.
Following that contention, there was not a huge deal to write home about...
🇳🇿 The New Zealand Herald - Lawson's pit gamble fails as he endures difficult weekend in Singapore
The New Zealand Herald covered how native son Liam Lawson rolled the dice by going long into the race before pitting, in the hope a safety car or red flag would hand him a free stop.
That never transpired, and the 23-year-old finished a lowly P15, despite lining up three spots higher, in P12. Lawson himself said he had "no idea" how he ended up behind Carlos Sainz, who nicked the final point for Williams. The Spanish driver started P18 and was behind the New Zealander before they both came in for fresh rubber.
The piece also addressed how Lawson suffered two session-ending crashes in practice, something that seriously hampered his preparation for qualifying — and subsequently the race. He admitted it was "not good enough" and vowed to learn from it.
🇮🇹 La Gazzetta dello Sport - Alonso fumes at Hamilton: "He has no respect for anyone; the track isn't his." Leclerc: "Too many problems."
Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport paid attention to Fernando Alonso's furious, f-bomb-laden radio rant aimed at Lewis Hamilton at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix.
The two-time F1 drivers' champion was livid with the Ferrari driver's conduct, who cut corners en route to finishing the race with no brakes. The FIA, like Alonso, took a dim view of it and handed Hamilton a five-second time penalty, which ultimately dropped him behind the Aston Martin.
It also tackled Charles Leclerc's misery on an underwhelming weekend for the Scuderia. The Monegasque driver was at a loss to explain the poor pace of the SF-25 and even took to "stupid" experiments in qualifying.
🇦🇺 Herald Sun - Oscar Piastri at centre of 'insane' podium drama after McLaren incident
Australian tabloid the Herald Sun addressed Piastri's absence from McLaren's podium celebration, which took place while the 24-year-old was fulfilling his post-race media commitments.
The papaya team had just secured a second-consecutive F1 constructors' title, and the lack of Piastri was widely misconstrued — in large part due to his anger during the grand prix over being barged by Norris on the first lap.
McLaren has since clarified that they were impromptu celebrations and not planned, dismissing any suggestion that there was anything behind the timing of them.
The team told RacingNews365: "It wasn't our plan to celebrate then but appreciative of F1 to make that possible for the team", having first explained that Piastri was conducting his mandatory press obligations at the time.
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they dissect all the action from the Singapore GP – the 18th round of the F1 season.
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