Oscar Piastri’s win in China last weekend proved that he’s not at McLaren to play second fiddle to Lando Norris. Piastri will fight for the Drivers’ Championship himself and is confident he has what it takes to achieve his dream.
Likewise, Norris is also determined to compete for the crown, putting McLaren in a difficult position. On one hand, this competitiveness could push both drivers to perform at their best and chase wins in every race, which is possible thanks to the rocketship MCL39. On the other hand, McLaren will be wary of this intra-team rivalry turning fierce and counterproductive.
There are several examples in F1 history of teammate rivalries affecting the team as a whole. Recently, McLaren has been warned that Norris and Piastri could create an environment similar to what Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had in 1988—37 years ago.
“We’ve seen it in the past many times, two number one drivers normally end in tears, doesn’t it?” journalist Tom Clarkson said on the F1 Nation podcast.
Alex Jacques, one of the commentators for F1 in 2025, replied by taking the Senna-Prost example and also highlighting some of the other fierce intra-team rivalries from over the years.
“It can blow up like it did between Rosberg and Hamilton at Mercedes, it can cause all sorts of iconic dramas like we saw between Prost and Senna,” he said. “In 1986, Williams had the best car, Piquet took half the wins, Mansell took the other half, and they managed to lose out to Alain Prost“.
Senna Prost
The infamous incident still talked about 30 years on…#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/KqIeds8K2h
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 9, 2019
For McLaren, the Senna-Prost rivalry remains the most relevant comparison. While they didn’t lose the Constructors’ title in 1988 at the peak of their tensions, the behind-the-scenes drama was intense.
The 2025 season could bring similar challenges, as McLaren is showing signs of dominance. However, Jacques believes the team will struggle to manage Norris and Piastri. They may have to resort to team orders, something they failed to implement effectively last year. Without a clear number-one driver, McLaren is likely to face even greater difficulties.
Why McLaren don’t want a number one driver
Until 2024, no one at McLaren—except for the few who had been with the team since 2008—had championship-winning experience. The team spent most of those years in the midfield, so when it came to implementing team orders, they struggled.
A perfect example was the Hungarian GP, where they practically begged Norris to do the “right thing” and give up the win to Piastri. There was no driver hierarchy, which made matters worse.
“I put myself in his shoes… I had to do what was right”
A bittersweet P2 for Lando Norris after surrendering the win to team mate Oscar Piastri#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/ApwgJoKaG4
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2024
Allowing the two to fight turned the Italian GP into a nightmare for McLaren, costing them an easy 1-2 after Piastri’s brilliant but ill-timed first-lap overtake on Norris.
However, McLaren maintains that they do not subscribe to the number-one driver philosophy, which could make it easier for them to tailor strategies to one of them when needed. “All the favors to the number one driver? This is not a healthy way of running a team,” team principal Andrea Stella said after last year’s Dutch GP.
Another reason McLaren won’t designate a number-one driver is that they see both as future world champions. Moreover, with Piastri recently signing a new contract, it’s unlikely the 23-year-old would accept a supporting role.
