Oscar Piastri believes he will be “battling” Lando Norris for “many years to come” after the McLaren team-mates fought a closely-contested F1 drivers’ championship fight in 2025.
The Australian ultimately came up 13 points short, with Max Verstappen between the pair in the standings as Norris clinched his first crown at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Woking-based squad’s insistence on parity between its drivers has caused friction over the past couple of campaigns, despite it lifting the constructors’ title on both occasions.
That was exacerbated in 2025, with accusations that McLaren was favouring Norris, even when Piastri held a healthy advantage in the championship battle.
Those claims remained unfounded, but they nonetheless fed into the growing narrative that Piastri — potentially at the urging of manager Mark Webber — might seek out pastures new within F1.
Despite the rumours, both drivers have maintained that their relationship is strong — and seemingly impervious to the rigours of a tense intra-team title fight.
When asked during the Ashes test in Melbourne whether they were mates and if Norris is a “good bloke”, Piastri underlined the strength of their partnership.
“No, he’s good. He’s good,” the nine-time grand prix winner told Australian broadcaster 7Sport. “We get on well, and we work together well.”
Whilst not explicitly stating it would be with both driving for McLaren, Piastri shared his view that the pair will remain close on-track rivals.
Highlighting that it will ideally be for titles, the 24-year-old made reference to the upcoming regulations reset, which could see McLaren knocked from its perch, despite the dominance of the MCL39.
He added: “But yeah, I think we’re gonna be battling each other, hopefully for championships, for many years to come.”