Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are in the midst of a very tense championship battle. Entering the summer break, the McLaren duo are separated by just nine points, and it looks like this will come down to the wire.
We’ve seen what a championship battle can do to two teammates; just ask Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. However, despite the close battle, it appears Norris and Piastri have maintained a close bond. That could change over the next 10 races, but Norris says he doesn’t think that it will affect their relationship.
Lando Norris doesn’t think the championship battle will cause bad blood with his teammate
After falling to P5 on the opening lap in Hungary, Norris deployed a one-stop strategy, which helped him go on to win the race. Afterwards, he was asked if he needed to get under Piastri’s skin to win the championship, but he doesn’t want to compete that way.
“I don’t enjoy that. In 200 years, no one is going to care. We’ll all be dead,” said Norris. “I am trying to have a good time. I still care about it, and that’s why I get upset sometimes and I get disappointed and I get angry at myself. And I think that shows just how much I care about winning and losing. But that doesn’t mean I need to take it out on Oscar.”
For years, championship battles have pitted driver against driver. While there’s still plenty of time for things to turn sour, Norris and Piastri seem to be going about this championship differently.
McLaren’s garages are beginning to divide
Early in the season, it felt like whichever McLaren car was ahead after turn one was going to win. Norris and Piastri didn’t fight on track, and there were no real alternate strategies. However, that has changed in recent races.
In Spa, Norris’s engineer offered him a one-stop strategy after Piastri overtook him on lap one, and he took it. This put Piastri on the back foot, and he had to manage his tires for the rest of the race. He was able to do it and won, but it was the first time we saw the two sides of the garage divided.
Did McLaren Jump the Gun For Oscar Piastri Costing Him the Win at the Hungarian GP?
Next time out in Hungary, the same thing happened. After Piastri pitted early and committed to a two-stop, Norris went for a one-stopper. This time, it netted him the victory.
Some fans are mad that McLaren “screwed” Piastri out of a win, but isn’t this what we want to see as fans? Why shouldn’t the two championship contenders be able to go on alternate strategies to try to beat one another? If they don’t, it will be a battle of who can lead into turn one.
This war is just getting started. Norris is set on maintaining his relationship with Piastri throughout this battle. But when it comes down to the final few races, will that be possible?
