Oscar Piastri wasn’t a consistent threat to Lando Norris in his first two F1 seasons. But for much of the 2025 campaign, the Australian has led the championship.

It was a marker of Norris’ intra-team dominance that he scored 20 of McLaren’s 30 podiums between the start of 2023 and the end of 2024, and four of their six wins. Piastri made a step in his second year but still lost the overall head-to-head 38-10.

Norris is still ahead, but the gap has narrowed to 22-17, with Piastri the superior qualifier. Max Verstappen has faded in and out of title contention, but the McLaren drivers have been the main protagonists.

With both drivers seeking to become McLaren’s first champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008, observers have been waiting for a fallout. But after 21 races, it still hasn’t arrived.

Oscar Piastri says his relationship with Lando Norris is ‘better than ever’

On this week’s F1: Beyond the Grid podcast, Piastri was asked how his relationship with Norris has changed in 2025. The two drivers crashed during the Canadian GP and USA Sprint.

Piastri said it’s ‘impossible’ for McLaren to keep both drivers happy in those moments, and the duo have also been involved at the centre of some controversial team orders.

While one would expect the relationship to become tense in these circumstances, Piastri says it has actually improved. Both drivers recognise that ‘what happens on track stays on track’.

“It’s either exactly the same, or, honestly, probably better than it has been,” he said. “It’s better, if anything, because we just know each other more now.

“It’s our third year as teammates, so we just slowly get to know each other more and more. It’s probably in a better place than it ever has been.

“I think we’re both the kind of people that what happens on track stays on track. Maybe there’s short-lived emotions off the track, but I think we’re both quite good at leaving things on the track.”

Either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri will leave McLaren in 2026, Juan Pablo Montoya warns

Piastri’s response is a testament to the management of Andrea Stella and Zak Brown at McLaren. They have built a culture where drivers air any grievances constructively in debriefs, rather than allowing resentment to fester.

Of course, the biggest challenge may still be ahead of them. Norris is 24 points ahead of Piastri right now, but if the latter can respond in the next two events, the title fight will go to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

McLaren have outwardly kept the emotions in check up to this point but the driver who loses out is bound to be heartbroken.

Indeed, Juan Pablo Montoya has warned McLaren that the runner-up will leave at the end of 2026, unless they build a dominant package for the new regulations. Every decision Stella and Brown have made has been aimed at keeping the team together.