Oscar vs Lando: The Battle to Come?
29 May 2025McLaren has shown in 2025 that they are the team to beat. Fighting from the back of the grid to take the Constructors' championship for the first time in 26 years last season. But the wait for a Driver’s Championship continues, and now, for the first time since 2008, it seems within reach.
While it seems to be the perfect season for a double championship, one factor looms in the air at McLaren. Will it be Oscar Piastri to take the title, or Lando Norris, and will the team be involved in the result?
McLaren’s rise to glory
When you look back at the last two years for the Papaya team, 2023 is almost unrecognisable. A team that was routinely at the back of the grid and had people questioning if Oscar Piastri’s switch from a possible Alpine seat was the right choice.
Since then, they’ve not only progressed from the back of the field to fighting for podiums but are now finding themselves as favourites for both titles.
Beyond the car developments that have pushed the team forward, there is no argument that their driver pairing is one of the most formidable on the grid.
Lando Norris, who knows the team as if it’s his own and is widely regarded as one of the most talented drivers on the current grid. Oscar Piastri, the newcomer Australian who had the most impressive rookie season since Lewis Hamilton and currently leads the drivers’ championship.
Since the duo’s debut in 2023, they have moved from strength to strength. For the most part, Lando Norris had guided the team in the last two seasons.
Norris’ role at McLaren
Lando Norris has been marked as one of the ‘stars of the next generation’ since he was in Formula 2. Named alongside the likes of George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.
Though always highly rated, even as a junior, it took time for Norris to find his footing in Formula 1. With a difficult car underneath, him, while his counterparts fought for podiums, he was stuck fighting for points.
He fought hard to even be in contention for a win, with Sochi 2021 being his earliest chance. A missed opportunity, which became his biggest criticism until he finally stood on the top step in Miami last year.
But there is no Lando Norris without McLaren, and arguably, no current-day McLaren without Lando Norris. The Brit joined the McLaren driver development program in 2017, debuted with them in 2019 and has been their star driver ever since.
He remained with the team while they sat at the back of the grid, holding onto his belief that they would return to glory. Now is seen as his chance to reap the rewards. But then there’s Oscar Piastri.
Oscar Piastri’s debut
Oscar Piastri hasn’t held the same loyalty to McLaren that Norris had. He wasn’t a McLaren development driver; he wasn’t a McLaren reserve driver. For Piastri, McLaren was an opportunity rather than a dream.
From the second he stepped behind the wheel of the papaya machinery, he impressed everyone. The Australian not only kept up with his more experienced teammate’s performance but, on occasion, overtook him.
While it took Norris five years to fight at the front and win, Piastri took a sprint win in his first season. With McLaren no longer stuck at the back, Piastri didn’t have to wait around in the same way Norris was forced to.
But even with the natural talent and the impressive sparks of something generational that Piastri showed in his first season. He was and still is new to Formula 1.
In 2024, his crux was tyre management. Though he could qualify well, he often found himself dropping through the pack or unable to fight those in front through the race distance. So, although the teammates at McLaren were close, Piastri’s growing pains prevented any true clashing.
Especially as the driver’s championship ended with Norris in a close second, with Piastri 84 points away.
The ‘Papaya Rules’ of it all
Despite the gap between teammates, 2024 still came with the slightest hint of what was to come at McLaren. As the championship drew closer and McLaren showed their advantage over Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, the discussion of team orders appeared.
At first, the team brushed it off, Zak Brown praising the joys of having two number one drivers allowed to fight. But that shifted as Norris’ first championship loomed on the horizon. It was a small chance, Verstappen’s margin still significant. But you could tell it played on McLaren’s mind.
Races like Hungary and Monza in 2024 saw the first lines of tension. A pit stop call that left Norris ahead of Piastri in Hungary, despite Piastri qualifying ahead, left fans subjected to a painful conversation between Norris and his race engineer, getting the Brit to swap places. It was Piastri’s first win, but it was marred by the feeling McLaren were playing with fire.
Then came Monza, and the famous ‘Papaya Rules’. Though Zak Brown insisted that the two McLaren drivers were allowed to fight, the code of papaya rules was used to tell the driver to race, but safely. A long-winded ‘be careful’.
This was uttered before Monza with Norris and Piastri starting the race on the front row together, and in the opening lap, Piastri tested the boundaries. Into the first corner, he made a move on Norris, taking the position from his teammate but ultimately losing the lead to Charles Leclerc.
The moment was brushed off as hard racing between teammates, but the dynamics had shifted, and the question of team orders loomed larger than before.
Two number one drivers
The policy of having two number one drivers is a choice we’ve seen made by many teams throughout the history of Formula 1. It’s an instinct to want two of the fastest drivers racing alongside each other in your team.
However, it comes with its host of problems. It breeds the strongest rivalries, with your teammate as your biggest competitor in Formula 1 due to the same machinery underneath you.
Time and time again throughout F1 history, the joys of having two number one drivers in a team have turned sour. Hamilton and Alonso, Hamilton and Rosberg, Prost and Senna, Mansell and Piquet and the list goes on.
Some teams have opted for the complete opposite, famously Red Bull. While Red Bull’s clear-cut number one and number two driver dynamic is often seen as harsh, it unmistakably works. With both drivers understanding their role within the team, the pit wall can use them strategically from race to race.
We saw this pay off in 2021, where Sergio Perez's ability as a number two driver held off Verstappen’s rivals, paving the way for his maiden championship.
This differs hugely from teams where both drivers are prioritised. When drivers are out for their race results and the championship is close, we see incidents like 2016 Barcelona. Two drivers, desperate to prove themselves in the same team, are clashing in a title fight.
McLaren’s fate
McLaren finds itself in the dream and dreaded position many teams think about each season. Piastri and Norris currently sit first and second in the championship, with McLaren leading the constructors.
The team have the superior car, with two incredibly talented drivers. Out of the first six races, McLaren have won five. However, Piastri has won four.
While the team storms ahead, the writing on the wall seems to be that the 2025 season may be Piastri’s rather than everyone’s expectation of Norris. The Brit has been open with his self-criticisms, saying he’s not at the level he needs to be to win a championship.
Meanwhile, his teammate overtakes him in overall race wins. Six rounds into the season, the tension is light, just a small breeze of the storm that could come. McLaren historically has favoured Norris. It’s been expected, with the Brit’s experience in the team and years over his teammate.
But now, the logical response would be to switch focus to Piastri. Especially as the season goes on and the championship fight gets closer. Now, both drivers say that the dynamic is still fun between them, and the on-track business is left on track.
McLaren faced huge criticisms last season for not prioritising the championship over their drivers’ feelings. With pundits such as Will Buxton begging the team to implement team orders to some degree.
The papaya team have begun the 2025 season with the exact same mentality they left 2024 with. However, the dynamic is different and there’s more at stake. The question of whether McLaren will survive the season looms over each front row lockout and turn one incident.
Images ©McLaren
