Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been teammates for almost two years, and have developed a good relationship. This involves occasional banter, and calling each other out, like Norris did at Piastri’s home race in Melbourne earlier this year.
Fan interactions are a big part of drivers in a race weekend, and Piastri, being from the city, was a hugely popular figure there. But that didn’t mean Piastri knew everything about the race.
Australian GP’s YouTube channel uploaded a video, where the host was asking Piastri who the most successful constructor at Albert Park was. Nothing came to Piastri’s mind, and he kept thinking of the right answer.
However, when a fan from the crowd shouted “McLaren“, Piastri replied, “I’m going to go with McLaren”.
Norris felt Piastri was unfair, as he used the crowd’s help. The Bristol-born driver insisted, “He’s a little cheater, this guy. He’s a cheat. Dodgy, dodgy play… just like cricket.”
The cricket reference stemmed from the Sky Sports F1 Ashes match from last year. Piastri captained the Australian team and Norris led the English. The latter scored a mere 34 runs, and in the innings break, the Briton insisted that he was scared of Piastri ‘sneakily’ practicing cricket back home.
What a treat for #F1 and #Ashes fans – When F1 meets the Ashes with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.https://t.co/uvb4iVzY4a#BritishGP #Silverstone
— SBProSport (@SBProSportUK) July 11, 2023
Piastri, with his flurry of boundaries, secured the win for the Aussies in this exhibition cricket match. Norris held on to the grudge, which is likely why he brought it up at Albert Park.
How Norris and Piastri’s relationship could change
What happened in Melbourne was lighthearted, and Norris was presumably pulling his teammate’s leg. The dynamic, however, could be changing now.
In Australia, McLaren was not a championship contender, and Piastri was going through an underwhelming spell. Fast forward to the Italian GP last weekend and both drivers were fighting neck to neck for the race win.
So far, they haven’t had any crashes or incidents on the track, but there is talk of discontent brewing in the McLaren camp, as Piastri’s first-lap overtake on Norris hampered the team’s chances of finishing 1-2 in Monza.
McLaren allowed Piastri and Norris to race each other by following ‘papaya rules‘ that afternoon. If by that, the Woking-based team meant they were free to fight, it could cause a strain in their otherwise good relationship in the future.
