Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s fight for the title at McLaren stayed close right up until the end of the season. Norris edged out his teammate by 13 points, although Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second overall, leaving Piastri in third place.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s fight for the title at McLaren stayed close right up until the end of the season.
Norris edged out his teammate by 13 points, although Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished second overall, leaving Piastri in third place.
McLaren put together their most competitive car of this century, winning 14 of the 24 races and collecting 34 podiums. Even so, some fans — especially those backing Piastri — felt he wasn’t always given a fair shot within the team.
Some fans felt Norris was getting preferential treatment from McLaren. But according to the team, every decision they made was with fairness in mind — whether that meant stepping in or letting things play out naturally.
Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have both publicly denied favouring one driver over the other, and Piastri himself has never implied otherwise.
Lando Norris may be a bigger hit than Piastri at McLaren
Jo Ramirez joined McLaren in 1983 and spent almost two decades there, leaving in 2001. He was the team coordinator back when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost finished first and second for the team.
Ramirez compared Norris to the late Ferrari talent Ricardo Rodriguez, Mexico’s first-ever F1 driver. He says they share the same enthusiasm for racing and celebrity lifestyle.
On the other hand, he sees Piastri as more of a single-minded competitor, less interested in relationships or winning people over. That could make it easier for some inside McLaren to feel closer to Norris.
“I really like Lando,” he told ESPN Mexico last year. “Lando is a guy like Ricardo Rodriguez. He loves racing, he loves what he does, he likes parties, he likes to have fun. He’s someone who enjoys life.
“Oscar is a machine. If it feels good to say hello to you, he greets you; if not, he ignores you. He doesn’t care. He never smiles – nothing.”
“He gets into the car and he’s so focused on what he’s doing that doesn’t care about anything around him… I don’t know if there will be more supporters of Lando than Oscar within McLaren just because Oscar is the guy that he is,” Ramirez added.
Piastri has never shied away from his reputation as an unbending competitor. And with two world titles already under his belt by age 23, including one won against Verstappen in 2025 at Suzuka while driving for Red Bull – it’s hard not to respect his approach.
Piastri describes the one ‘papaya rule’ at McLaren
Norris arrived at McLaren in 2019, when they were still fighting for points in the midfield. Since then, he’s seen them evolve into F1’s top team, even overtaking Red Bull.
After speaking with Zak Brown, one journalist came away with the impression that Norris was McLaren’s “chosen son.” But it’s worth remembering how hard they worked to bring Piastri over from Alpine in 2023, taking their case all the way to the Contract Recognition Board.
Both drivers – particularly Piastri – have had their share of controversial team orders. But even as Verstappen became more of a threat, McLaren never put a strict pecking order in place like many other teams might have done.
Stella and Brown have always been proud of how much freedom they give their drivers. Despite the outside debate about certain calls, Piastri says there’s really just one main rule within the team: don’t take each other out.
Category: General Sports
