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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOscar Piastri has gone into detail about his relationship with Lando Norris across the 2025 season. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOscar Piastri has gone into detail about his relationship with Lando Norris across the 2025 season. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
Piastri and Norris went head-to-head for the title across a season that ultimately ended with the British driver 13 points ahead of the Australian, and two ahead of\u00a0Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n
Despite the intensity of the fight, Piastri insists the relationship between the McLaren pair never deteriorated into hostility, even with flashpoints in Canada, Singapore and Austin which included two on-track clashes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn all honesty, I don\u2019t think it really changed,\u201d Piastri said on the High Performance Podcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone really struggles to believe [that]; it\u2019s very much down to how we are as people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re both quite good at separating the people and what happens on the racetrack versus off the racetrack.\u201d<\/p>\n
That ability to compartmentalise proved critical across a long season in which both drivers entered the final round still in contention, alongside Verstappen, who recovered to finish second in the standings.<\/p>\n
While tensions might have been expected to rise, Piastri insisted their relationship actually strengthened compared to their early days as team-mates in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur marketing days that we had to do together, for example, were exactly the same\u2026 we get asked about our relationship as team-mates quite a lot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think probably it was actually better at the back end of last year than it was, say the first six months [as team-mates, in 2023] that we were getting to know each other, just because we know each other more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even so, Piastri acknowledged the situation carried real risk for both drivers and the team, with McLaren\u2019s leadership, including CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella, prioritising a collaborative culture built on full data sharing, a philosophy that can come under strain in a title fight.<\/p>\n
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Both Piastri and Norris battled till the final round of the season for the championship in 2025. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both knew the situation we were in of trying to beat each other, and only one of us could win; we knew all of that,\u201d Piastri said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it never got nasty. And I think that\u2019s a really important thing, because I think it would have been very easy for last year to have got nasty and, well, if it really got bad, there probably would have been the question of whether one of us was even sat here doing this interview wearing orange!\u201d<\/p>\n
That awareness shaped how both drivers approached their battles on track.<\/p>\n
Incidents were addressed quickly behind closed doors, with neither side allowing frustration to spiral into mind games or political infighting, scenarios that have historically defined famous teammate rivalries.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe obviously had a couple of times where we came together, but there was never\u2026 I think in title battles, especially between team-mates that have turned sour, there\u2019s normally been some element of games or trying to hide stuff, or something like that,\u201d Piastri explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for both of us, we\u2019re just not really like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that McLaren\u2019s internal structure reinforced that approach, with both drivers remaining accountable for mistakes and an emphasis on transparency rather than escalation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if we felt like we\u2019d crossed the line\u2026 we never had to confront each other, but I think we both knew if we\u2019d crossed the line ourselves and went: \u2018My bad\u2026\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the team held us accountable for that as well. So I think we had a good system to keep things friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n
That culture extended to performance data, with Piastri admitting there was little room for secrecy even at the height of a title fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the way of modern teams anyway, especially at McLaren,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the way it\u2019s going to be, whether I want it to be or not. It\u2019s a very good way of going about things.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t hide.\u201d<\/p>\n
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