Oscar Piastri issues update on Lando Norris McLaren relationship

Sam Cook Sunday 8 February 2026 17:02

McLaren F1 driver Oscar Piastri has spoken out about his relationship with team-mate Lando Norris following their 2025 world championship battle.

Piastri won seven grands prix in 2025, and led the championship between April-October, but eventually finished 13 points behind Norris, who claimed his maiden championship crown.

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 - and that allowed them to maintain a good relationship between their two drivers.

Now, Piastri has issued an update on how the relationship between the pair is heading into 2026, 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.

"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 championship in F1 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 had wrapped up last year's by 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.

F1 McLaren Lando Norris Oscar Piastri