– Oscar Piastri spoke about the McLaren team rivalry in the 2025 Formula 1 season in an episode of the High Performance podcast. Together with teammate Lando Norris, the Australian fought for the world championship over much of the year. Despite the sporting rivalry, Piastri emphasizes that the relationship between the two has not changed and that the cooperation off the track has also remained stable.
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McLaren dominated large parts of the 2025 season, leading to an internal team battle between Norris and Piastri for the driver title. In the later phase of the season, Max Verstappen also mixed into the title fight. The internal constellation at McLaren attracted a lot of attention in the paddock.
The team relied on an open race strategy for both drivers, but with the clear directive to avoid collisions. At the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Norris prevailed and won his first world championship title. Verstappen finished second, Piastri came third.
Piastri on the relationship with Norris
In the High Performance podcast, Piastri explains that his relationship with Norris has not changed despite the close title fight. “To be honest, I don’t think anything has really changed,” says the Australian. “I think that has a lot to do with who we are as people.”
He emphasizes that both drivers are good at distinguishing between the sporting competition on the track and personal interaction off it. Even joint appointments such as marketing activities have not changed because of this.
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No break despite sporting rivalry
Piastri also stresses that the interaction within the team has always remained respectful despite the high sporting tension. Although there were occasional situations on the track where both drivers clashed, the situation never escalated.
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“It never got uncomfortable,” explains Piastri. A possible intensification of the rivalry was avoided, according to him, through clear communication within the team and mutual responsibility.
Focus on team harmony at McLaren
The Australian emphasizes that especially internal title duels between teammates can quickly escalate if emotions or tactical games come into play. However, this was not the case at McLaren.
Even smaller incidents were always addressed openly.
Both drivers and the team actively contributed to keeping the cooperation stable. Despite a so far mixed start to the current season, Piastri sees the stable relationship with Norris as an important factor for the team atmosphere at McLaren.
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