F1 2026: Oscar Piastri issues Lando Norris relationship update after tense title battle

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri — Photo: © IMAGO

McLaren

F1 2026: Oscar Piastri issues Lando Norris relationship update after tense title battle

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were involved in a championship battle in 2025

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 7 February 2026 22:09

McLaren F1 driver Oscar Piastri has issued an update on the status of his relationship with newly-crowned world champion Lando Norris.

The pair are team-mates at McLaren, and were involved in a fierce championship battle in 2025, which Red Bull's Max Verstappen also joined in during the second half of the campaign.

Piastri won seven grands prix, and led the championship between April and October, before eventually finishing 13 points behind Norris, who claimed his maiden championship crown.

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The Australian racer went on a run of six races without a grand prix podium between September to the end of November, and this was ultimately what cost him the championship and allowed Norris and Verstappen back into the fight.

McLaren attempted to give both of their two drivers an equal opportunity to fight for the title - and were criticised for sometimes going too far in that regard - although it allowed the team to mostly keep a good relationship between their driver duo.

Now, Piastri has issued an update on how the relationship between the pair is heading into 2026 after his title loss, when they might be in yet another championship battle if McLaren can master the wholesale regulation changes.

"Yeah, definitely," he told Sky Sports F1 when asked if he enjoys the competition with Norris. "I'm sure at times we make each other's life harder than we want, but I think there's genuinely a lot of positives that come with that.

"I think we're both probably stronger racing drivers having had each other as team-mates for three years now and it's very hard to put a number on having someone that you can constantly learn from in so many areas. I feel like we've probably both learned a lot from each other and I'm sure we will continue to learn a lot from each other in these new cars.

"So yeah, the relationship's still good. We're still working together well and we've got a lot of things to try and learn and it's much easier to learn them with two drivers helping each other than trying to do it individually."

Will McLaren still be fighting for the F1 championship in 2026?

McLaren may have more competition for their crown in 2026, with new regulation changes potentially set to see a shake up in the F1 pecking order.

The Woking-based outfit have won the last two constructors' championships, and wrapped up last year's title as early as October.

Mercedes are rumoured to be best-placed to master the new regulations, but McLaren will be desperate to get themselves into the mix.

The fact that they have a Mercedes power unit in their MCL40 could well help them to keep in touch with the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari in 2026, and Piastri and Norris will hope to be winning races once more in the upcoming season.

When does the 2026 F1 season start?

Piastri and Norris will be in action when the 2026 season starts in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix. The first race of the year takes place on March 8 at 3pm local time (AEDT), 4am GMT, and 11pm ET. The first round of pre-season tests in Bahrain will kick off before then on February 11 until 13, and the second round continues from February 18 until February 20.

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F1 McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri