Lando Norris has apologised to McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri after he crashed out of the Canadian Grand Prix, colliding at 200mph whilst battling for fourth place with three laps remaining.
The British driver immediately accepted full responsibility for the incident, telling his team over the radio: "It is all my bad. All my fault. Unlucky. Stupid from me."
Norris was forced to retire his damaged car whilst Piastri continued to finish fourth.
George Russell claimed victory from pole position ahead of Max Verstappen, with Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli securing his maiden Formula One podium in third place.
Lando Norris was forced to retire after hitting teammate Oscar PiastriGettyThe incident occurred as the McLaren drivers duelled on lap 67, with Norris attempting an overtake on the start-finish straight.
He misjudged his approach and struck the rear of Piastri's car whilst trying to pass.
Earlier in the race, Norris had successfully overtaken Piastri at the hairpin with 11 laps remaining, only for his team-mate to reclaim the position at the final chicane.
Norris then sensed another opportunity on the run to the first corner but collided with Piastri in his attempt.
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Lando Norris lost his front wing in the incident
Reuters
The safety car was deployed following the collision, with the race finishing under yellow flags.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, a contrite Norris took full responsibility for the collision.
He said: "No one to blame but myself, so I apologise to the whole team and to Oscar as well for attempting something probably a bit too silly.
"Glad I didn't ruin his race. In the end apologies to the team."
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When it was suggested that a collision between the McLaren drivers had been inevitable, Norris disagreed: "This was just more silly. This wasn't even like a 'that's racing', it was just silly from my part."
Asked how he would reset for the Austrian Grand Prix, Norris replied: "I go to bed tonight and apologise to everyone and then crack on."
Piastri remained diplomatic when questioned on the incident: "Obviously it's not ideal for anyone but I haven't actually seen the incident, so I don't know what exactly happened.
"But if Lando has taken full responsibility, then that's how it goes I guess. Just a bit of a tricky race in general and not an ideal finish.
He continued: "I don't think there were any bad intentions involved, I think it was just unfortunate really. I'll go and have a look obviously but we're both fighting for a world championship and am very thankful to the team that they allow us to race.
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Oscar Piastri did not 'think there were any bad intentions involved' after the crash
Reuters
"I don't expect this to change anything in terms of that. We'll keep going racing through the year."
Russell delivered a commanding performance from pole position, maintaining his advantage over Verstappen from the opening lap.
The Mercedes driver's quicker reaction time at the start allowed him to control the race throughout, building a gap of over a second by lap six.
"It is amazing to be back on the top step," Russell said afterwards. "We took the victory following an incredible pole lap."
The result marked Russell's first victory since Las Vegas in November.
Antonelli's third-place finish represented a breakthrough moment for the young Mercedes driver, whilst Piastri's fourth place extended his championship lead over Norris from 10 to 22 points.
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