Since joining McLaren<\/a> in 2023, the 24-year-old had been behind teammate Norris<\/a>, most notably in qualifying. However, Piastri has taken a huge step forward this season and taken the fight to the other side of the garage,<\/p>\n CategoryLando NorrisOscar Piastri2025 points275284Grand Prix results77Grand Prix qualifying77Grand Prix wins56Grand Prix poles54Grand Prix podiums1212Best finish1st1stRetirements10Fastest laps54Grand Prix points finishes1314Sprint results12Sprint Qualifying03Sprint wins10Sprint poles01Sprint podiums23The 2025 F1 teammate head-to-head battle of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri<\/p>\n His steely demeanour has paid dividends as he keeps himself consistently fighting at the front, while mistakes in qualifying and races have proved costly for his teammate. Alan Jones says Piastri is better at \u2018politics\u2019<\/a> than Norris, having previously criticised the Brit for being mentally \u2018weak\u2019.<\/p>\n However, as the summer break ends, Piastri has a fight on his hands for the 2025 crown. After winning three of the last four races, Norris has closed the gap to just nine points, setting up an intense battle for the championship.<\/p>\n With Max Verstappen 97 points behind Piastri, the title fight looks set to be a two-horse race between the McLaren drivers. The Woking outfit have not won a drivers\u2019 championship since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.<\/p>\n The MCL39 has been the dominant force of the 2025 season as they sit on 559 points with 10 rounds to go. The championship seems a certainty for McLaren, and Piastri wants the team to keep that up.<\/p>\n Speaking to The Race<\/a>, the Aussie wants to fight for a championship for his whole career, or at least \u2018for the next few years\u2019. He has stressed that the team must continue to give him a competitive car.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThe biggest message is that I want the chance to fight for championships for, ideally, my whole career, but certainly for the next few years, because I think we really have the potential to do that for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 284 2 275 3 187 4 172 5 151 6 109 7 64 8 54 9 37 10 27 <\/p>\n \u201cWe have a quick car, and essentially, the way of bringing the team down is by causing issues internally, and obviously crashing into each other and causing friction between the team-mates is probably the number one way of achieving that.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m certainly aware that to achieve that goal of mine of being able to fight for drivers\u2019 championships for many years to come, we need the team around us to be able to give us the car, and that comes with people being in the right state of mind, happy to be working at McLaren.<\/p>\n \u201cSo that is always there. Obviously, when you\u2019re wheel to wheel with someone in a race, it\u2019s probably a bit further back in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when you\u2019re out of the car, there is always that sense of, \u2018As much as I want this championship this year, I don\u2019t want to win it at the expense of potentially not winning more\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0McLaren driver Oscar Piastri\u2019s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend<\/a><\/p>\n With just nine points separating the McLaren drivers heading into the Dutch Grand Prix<\/a> this weekend, the battle for the title between Piastri and Norris is set to intensify. They have been given the freedom to fight on track, but that has given the team some issues.<\/p>\n Piastri and Norris collided in Canada<\/a>, with the latter retiring from the race. McLaren have since reminded the duo of their rules of engagement, but even then, they have almost come to blows on several occasions.<\/p>\n Piastri knows McLaren must stay \u2018united\u2019<\/a> amid the title battle, but he is determined to beat his teammate. The Aussie has produced some aggressive moves in a bid to get ahead, with Piastri almost crashing into Norris in Hungary<\/a> in the closing stages.<\/p>\n![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2227429080-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Andrea Diodato\/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesOscar Piastri\u2019s \u2018biggest message\u2019 to McLaren is he wants to fight for a championship for his whole career<\/p>\n![\"Lando](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2230236858-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Nicolas Economou\/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesMcLaren risk internal problems with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris\u2019 title fight<\/p>\n