Oscar Piastri explains why his relationship with Lando Norris is stronger than ever despite the close F1 title battle and how McLaren is dealing with the pressure internally.
Oscar Piastri sees his relationship with McLaren teammate Lando Norris as excellent despite the close title battle in Formula 1 2025. The Australian explained that the internal relationship has actually improved, even though both drivers are fighting for their first world championship title.
“It’s exactly the same or, to be honest, probably better than it’s been,” Piastri said on the Beyond The Grid podcast. “It’s better because we just know each other better. We are now in our third year together as teammates and we are slowly getting to know each other better and better.”
With three race weekends remaining in the 2025 season, including a sprint, Norris leads the drivers’ standings by 24 points ahead of Piastri. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is another 25 points behind and still has a mathematical chance of winning the title.
McLaren continues to adhere to its philosophy of not favoring one driver over the other. The rule is to give both drivers equal opportunities and simply ensure that things remain fair on the track. Apart from a few incidents, including at the Canadian and Singapore Grand Prix, this internal directive has been largely followed so far.
“We are both the kind of people who believe that what happens on the track stays on the track,” Piastri explains. “There may be short-lived emotions off the track, but we are both pretty good at letting things cool down and leaving them on the track.”
In his view, nothing has changed in the way they work together either: “The way we continue to try to get the most out of the team is exactly the same.”
However, the pendulum has recently swung clearly in Norris’s favor in the internal team duel. While the Briton has recently recorded a series of strong results and taken the lead in the World Championship, Piastri has been waiting for another podium finish since the Italian Grand Prix in early September.