Lando Norris on his rivalry with his teammate: "We want to fight" 

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have enjoyed a very competitive car since the start of the season. While the rivalry between the two teammates seems healthy so far, Japan could be the scene of the first frictions.

Published 03/04/2025 à 20:00

Benoit Chelles

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Lando Norris on his rivalry with his teammate: "We want to fight"

©Javier Jimenez / DPPI

It's almost inevitable when two drivers are battling it out at the front of a season of Formula 1, tensions arise and a rivalry takes shape. Cheers / Senna, Hamilton / Rosberg or Mansell / Piquet are examples of this process. Norris et Piastres Are they the next victims of this pathology?

Since the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season, the team McLaren was able to perpetuate the advantage it had gained in the second half of the previous year and dominates the premier class of motorsport. After two Grands Prix, Norris and Piastri share victories and pole positions equally. The enthusiasm of such a prolific start to the season annihilates the possible electricity between the two young drivers, however, the Briton is already preparing for the amplification of tensions between teammates.

« With Oscar, many things can happen and I'm sure there will be delicate or difficult moments, confessed the McLaren driver. Between the two of us, we want to fight, but we're also teammates, so the dynamic isn't simple. It's never easy to find the perfect balance, but we work hard as a team to achieve it."

Tensions to be expected?

In the face of these rivalries in motorsport, little remains. Last year, the friendly relations between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris quickly became heated when the two drivers found themselves neck and neck on the track on several occasions. What will happen with his Australian teammate? For the past few races, Oscar Piastri is gaining momentum and his mistake in Melbourne that cost him a podium finish isn't enough to tarnish his increasingly solid performances. He's definitely establishing himself as a contender for the title. A title that will be decided between the two orange single-seaters if the rival teams fail to close the gap.

« I'm not too worried. I think the advantage of having the guy you're competing with on the same team is that you have an eye on everything he does. Ultimately, it doesn't bother me. I'm ready to face anyone and I'm looking forward to it." rejoices the British pilot.

Lando Norris currently leads the Drivers' Championship with 44 points, ahead of Max Verstappen and George Russell. The Melbourne native is fifth due to his home blunder, 10 points behind the Briton. Will the demanding Suzuka circuit, which hosts the third round of the season this weekend, be the scene of the first friction for the McLaren drivers? The Woking team is no stranger to fierce rivalries within its garages, as Alain Prost can attest, just as the Suzuka circuit is no stranger to the resolution of its battles (1989 and 1990). Perhaps this time it will be the site of not the end, but the beginning of hostilities.

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1 Comment (s)

Yves-Henri RANDIER

04/04/2025 at 12:36 a.m.

Suzuka, a track fraught with friction for McLaren, particularly the Prost/Senna episodes of 1989 and 1990 when Suzuka was at the end of the season with huge stakes. It should be less rough in 2025 for Woking at the time of the cherry blossoms!

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