During the Canadian GP, McLaren teammates and championship rivals clashed along the main straight, leading to Lando Norris retiring from the race. This was the first time the pair had raced each other this season on an equal footing. Norris and Oscar Piastri had been dicing for fourth place for a few laps before they came together, and Norris was into the wall.
The incident has given Piastri a 22-point lead in the championship heading into the Austrian GP. However, with the constructors’ championship going well for McLaren, the Aussie has claimed the team will still let the pair race.
McLaren will let their drivers race according to the championship leader
With both drivers fighting for the championship this season, McLaren is willing to let their drivers race. The team implements ‘Papaya rules’, where they let their drivers race hard but fairly and instruct them not to touch each other. Despite the contact in Canada, the championship leader, Oscar Piastri, says he is still allowed to race Lando Norris.
Speaking to the media before the Austrian GP, Piastri said: “What happened in Canada wasn’t ideal, but we’re still free to race, we are still fighting for a championship each. So, no, keep going racing and make sure that we don’t come into contact again.
“We spoke about it honestly before we even got back to the team. Lando put his hands up and apologised, so all good and looking forward to racing again.”
🚨 | Andrea Stella on whether the clash between Lando and Oscar in Canada will affect team orders going forward:
“It doesn’t change anything, because this was a misjudgment, not a violation of the team’s racing principles.
“There was no bad intent. It was simply a misjudgment… pic.twitter.com/2Tpm0WLy4E
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) June 15, 2025
Lando Norris took full responsibility for the accident in Montreal. He added: “We want to race each other fair and hard and on the limit and not have a repeat of what happened last time out, and that takes both of us, even though Canada was on me, so, yeah, from a mentality point of view, from a constructive point of view, I think that’s why it was positive.”
This mistake could prove costly for Norris, who lost 12 points to his teammate. Piastri has shown consistency this season, something which Norris has lacked. The Brit has to start putting pressure on his teammate while keeping calm himself. Despite the deficit, there is plenty of time to fight back, but Norris needs to chip away at the lead to get self-belief back. This fight is far from over if Norris can swing the momentum.
Oscar Piastri hopes McLaren is faster in Austria
Canada was the first race this season where neither McLaren driver stood on the podium. The car lacked its usual dominant pace around the Montreal circuit. Piastri managed to qualify well in P3 but dropped back in the race. Norris could only manage P7 during qualifying and made his way up to fight before the collision.
Piastri is hopeful that McLaren can have a better race weekend in terms of pace around the Red Bull Ring. He believes McLaren was a bit off, and the team’s lack of speed came as a surprise.
The Aussie said: “We got taken by surprise a little bit that we weren’t as strong as we hoped in Canada, but hopefully it’s a one-off. “I think we kind of understand what went wrong in Canada. So, we’ll try and have a better weekend here, but I’m confident we’ll be back on top form.”
McLaren were strong at the Austrian GP last season. Norris was battling hard with Max Verstappen for the win before the two collided. Oscar Piastri finished the race in second and just two seconds behind the winner George Russell. Both cars also finished in the top 3 for the sprint race.
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Amazing scenes!
Norris and Verstappen make contact at Turn 3 💥
Both drivers have punctures after clashing… and George Russell has taken the lead!!! #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/0GtTwPXd6N
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 30, 2024
If they can continue that form in Spielberg, then McLaren should return to form and fight for the win. In Canada, they didn’t have the pace of Russell or Verstappen. The team will want to put that right in Austria and return to winning ways.
