Imagine having a driver pairing so good that managing them becomes a headache. Both drivers are so competitive that their brilliance risks hurting the team more than helping it. That’s the challenge McLaren face right now with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Both Piastri and Norris are proven race winners, gunning to become championship-caliber drivers. As a result, McLaren have refused to label a clear number one, citing that both are free to fight each other as long as they are respectful and don’t lose collective points for the team — basically what they label as ‘papaya rules’.
However, it is common belief that Norris has long been the more favored driver, having been at McLaren since 2019, four years before Piastri joined. The Briton had stuck with them during their lows, and never considered leaving which is why many believe his loyalty deserves a reward.
That said, Piastri is not someone who will sit back and let that sustain. The kind of start the Australian has had to the 2025 campaign — three wins from the first five races — he has clearly shown how he can be better than Norris. So, McLaren favoring the #4 driver this season may incite trouble for them.
Even former AlphaTauri (renamed to Racing Bulls in 2024) team principal Franz Tost feels that just because Norris is more experienced doesn’t mean McLaren will be giving him the number-one driver tag.
“I don’t think that they can favor a driver,” Tost said on the Inside Line F1 podcast. “Because Piastri will not accept it. Piastri is for me, an alpha driver.”
Así ha sido la salida en Monza.
Piastri se pone líder. Norris cae a la P3.pic.twitter.com/6XrO1DCPsm
— ElReyGuiri (@ElReyGuiri) September 1, 2024
And that’s not all.
Tost further cited manager Mark Webber as one of the reasons why Piastri will never be a second choice. “He is one of the best possible managers, because Mark knows everything in F1. Absolutely everything. And I don’t expect that they will respect any team that does something like this.”
Webber, more than anyone, knows how being the deputy in a team can badly hurt one’s career. Despite his talent, he was relegated to that role during his time at Red Bull, where he was often forced to give up race wins and watch Sebastian Vettel celebrate from afar. That’s not something the Aussie veteran wants Piastri to go through.
Tost thinks that for Piastri, the task ahead is straightforward. To be the first choice, or the ‘alpha’ in the minds of McLaren’s crew, he simply has to continue beating Norris like he’s done so far in 2025. “Piastri knows what he has to do. He has to be in qualifying, in the front,” Tost concluded.
Qualifying had been a weakness for the #81 driver until last season. However, the way he has improved his single-lap pace, being within a tenth of the pole lap time or on pole in every qualifying session in 2025, indicates that he is ready to usurp Norris as the lead driver. McLaren, nevertheless, don’t appear to be keeping Piastri at the back of their minds.
Earlier this year, the Melbourne-born driver signed a new contract with the team — one that will see him earn as much as Norris. It’s a clear sign that, despite allegations of Norris favoritism, McLaren are placing their bets equally on both talents for the future, as things stand.
