The world of Formula One seems to have cottoned on to the “repercussions” McLaren handed down on Lando Norris for his opening lap collision with teammate Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Norris said in the lead-up to last weekend’s United States Grand Prix that he was facing punishment for the incident, but the team would not reveal what that was publicly.

On race day, there were no obvious restrictions on Norris as he finished second to Max Verstappen, while Piastri came fifth.

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The drama between the McLaren duo was heightened as they crashed out of the sprint race at Turn 1 after Nico Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri, who then collided with Norris as a result.

But it was in qualifying in Texas where several F1 experts believed they spotted the impact of Norris’ “repercussions”.

The Brit teased reporters saying someone would need to be “clever” to figure out what has actually been imposed on him.

‘Far too close’ – Oscar calls for parity | 03:25

Sky Sports F1 commentator Ted Kravitz took it straight to McLaren’s rivals, with Red Bull believing they worked it out.

“So I’ve asked Mercedes, and they said, ‘We don’t know what the repercussions are’,” Kravitz said.

“But I asked Red Bull, and they said, ‘We think the repercussions are they’re going to give Oscar Piastri the priority in all the qualifying sessions coming to the end of the season’.

“Oscar will be effectively treated in the qualifying sessions as the number one driver.”

French F1 broadcaster Canal+ reported a similar idea, saying that Piastri will get to choose whether he goes out before or after Norris in each qualifying session for the rest of the season.

If that is the “repercussions”, it made little impact as the Australian qualified sixth fastest, while Norris nabbed a spot on the front row next to Verstappen.

The drama following Singapore only poured more fuel on the flame that is the debate over McLaren’s papaya rules, and whether Norris is actually favoured behind the scenes.

Piastri and Norris collide at turn one | 02:31

Following the Singapore incident, Piastri said on team radio: “that wasn’t very teamlike” and “are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way”.

It came after the Australian followed team orders in Italy, allowing Norris to overtake him because of a slow pit stop, despite that being no fault of his own.

Piastri has stayed diplomatic throughout, telling reporters in Texas he is comfortable with how things are playing out.

“Yes, I’m very happy with that,” he said in Austin. “We analysed the incident. There has been responsibility placed on Lando, ultimately, in that collision.

“But I’m very happy that there’s no favouritism or bias. We had a lot of discussions, as you would expect. Very productive.

“I think we’re very clear on how we want to go racing as a team. The incident we had in Singapore isn’t how we want to go racing.

“Lando has taken responsibility for that and so has the team. I think it’s quite clear for us as a team that how lap one unfolded wasn’t how we want to go racing.”