![\"Oscar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/c2950d07c1cfbe916369b9106bd39a5a7da281cb.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nPiastri has raced for just three seasons, but among Australian drivers only Brabham (14) and Jones (12) have won more races than his nine. For context, Norris had five podium finishes to his name after his first three seasons.<\/p>\n
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, whose late-season charge for Red Bull Racing saw him overhaul Piastri and lose the title by only two points to Norris, had three victories on his CV in the same timeframe.<\/p>\n
Piastri\u2019s trajectory is undeniable, but Jones feels it\u2019s his measured response to his biggest career disappointment that holds him in good stead.<\/p>\n
\u201cHalfway through last year I felt that if there was ever going to be a mental fight between the two [McLaren drivers] that I\u2019d go for Piastri because I thought the other bloke wasn\u2019t as strong,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Norris] turned out to be pretty good as well, and he gets credit for that, but Piastri is very mentally strong and mature, and for that reason he has what it takes when his chance comes up.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s up to Piastri to establish the status quo as quickly as he possibly can this season, right from Albert Park. It\u2019s something I think he\u2019s capable of doing. He\u2019ll learn from how it finished for him last season and be better for it.<\/p>\n
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Oscar Piastri won\u2019t be affected by being pipped by his teammate, says Alan Jones.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t hurt him, put it that way. He\u2019s the type of driver that what has happened before probably won\u2019t make much of a difference this season.\u201d<\/p>\n
To highlight the challenge ahead of Piastri, it\u2019s worth noting that only once in the past 41 years has a driver won their maiden title by beating a teammate who holds the championship. That was in 2016, when Nico Rosberg won the championship over Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton after the British driver had beaten the German to the previous two titles.<\/p>\n
Rosberg, rather than defend his crown, immediately retired at the age of 31. Before Rosberg, the previous driver to win their maiden title against a world champion teammate was Alain Prost, who won for McLaren in 1985 over three-time champion, Niki Lauda.<\/p>\n
Norris hunting down Piastri to win last year\u2019s championship came against the backdrop of incessant scrutiny over McLaren\u2019s \u201cpapaya rules\u201d. Although that ethos is aimed at achieving fairness at every turn between the McLaren drivers, Piastri was compromised more than once by clumsy execution of the approach.<\/p>\n
It led many of the sport\u2019s fans and analysts to conclude that McLaren would prefer that Norris \u2013 home-grown within the team since 2017 \u2013 became its first champion since Hamilton 18 years earlier.<\/p>\n
But Jones isn\u2019t buying that, nor does he believe Piastri may need to look outside of McLaren for alternative paths to the top.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t think McLaren needs to change much,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth drivers are adults, they\u2019ve been around the block and know what\u2019s needed. They know they shouldn\u2019t bump into one another in the races and that sort of business. I can\u2019t see them needing to sit them both down to tell them how to race and what\u2019s acceptable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know [McLaren CEO] Zak Brown personally. [He\u2019s] the sort of bloke that, if he says he gives them equal opportunity, I thoroughly believe that he will. Not naming names, but other teams; you wouldn\u2019t believe them quite so much.<\/p>\n
\u201cZak\u2019s a proper racer, and it\u2019s why I didn\u2019t buy into all the talk last year about what was supposedly going on.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, the other driver won it first, but I don\u2019t see there being any reason why Piastri couldn\u2019t win it against the same teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n