Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s collective efforts ensured McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship win since 1998. After receiving the championship trophy in Rwanda on Friday, the duo had to present it in front of their Woking workforce. Safe to say, that their performance on stage was not as smooth as their on-track exploits this season.
Piastri and Norris rehearsed lifting the trophy for ‘hours’, according to the Aussie. Still, they fumbled when it mattered the most, as seen in Piastri’s Instagram video.
“Practised for hours and we nailed it,” Piastri sarcastically wrote in the caption.
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Even in the clip, McLaren CEO Zak Brown could be heard correctly predicting that they would mess things up. Presumably, Piastri and Norris were supposed to lift the coveted trophy together out of a box, but they failed to sync correctly.
McLaren or its employees would not mind this small hiccup. After all, none of them would have imagined watching their drivers lift the silverware when the season began, but thanks to their brilliant work behind the scenes, the papaya squad ended 2024 as the best on the grid. Next step? The Drivers’ Championship.
McLaren’s aim for 2025
Norris put up a fairly decent challenge for the crown in 2024, but eventually lost out to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who won his fourth title in a row. Mistakes made by both him and McLaren cost him, but as soon as the Abu Dhabi GP ended, Norris declared that he would be coming after the Drivers’ Championship in 2025.
If McLaren has a competitive car again, which most likely will be the case, Norris will certainly be one of the favorites to win. But his teammate Piastri cannot be ruled out.
Piastri fell short of making a real push for the title in 2024, but showed that he can challenge Norris on his day. With more consistency and a race-winning car, Piastri’s talent could prove to be a real thorn in Norris’ side. Perhaps, it could lead to an intra-team Championship battle for McLaren to deal with in 2025.
