Lando Norris has confirmed McLaren will permit him and Oscar Piastri to race one another in the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, but within “rules we cannot cross”.
McLaren surging to a front-row lock-out at the season-opening event in Melbourne has reignited the discussion around how the team will navigate using team orders.
The Woking-based squad received criticism in the previous campaign over a reluctance to prioritise Norris as he sought to catch eventual champion Max Verstappen.
McLaren’s indecision provided a damaging blow at Monza as Piastri’s brash opening-lap pass on Norris allowed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to beat them both to the win.
That triggered a rethink which culminated in Piastri ceding a Sprint victory to his team-mate in Brazil, although it came too late to salvage Norris’ doomed title pursuit.
With McLaren poised to have a car in the MCL39 that gives both drivers a shot at winning the Drivers’ Championship, Norris and Piastri will start 2025 on equal terms.
However, Norris has admitted that the duo, who have partnered together since 2023, have been told that more racing room must be given when battling the sister car.
“There’s obviously been discussions because we’re prepared,” Norris, who claimed pole position at the Albert Park Circuit, told media including Motorsport Week.
“We know we’re gonna have a lot more of this kind of thing over the course of the season.
“So, there are clearly rules we cannot cross. Both cars will always have to stay in the race and that kind of thing.
“We’re both competitors, that’s clear, we both want to fight for a win and fight for victories, that’s clear.
“But there’s just boundaries around the car. So, it’s just ‘[give] a little bit more space here and there’. But we’re free to race, we’re free to try and win races.
“What won us the Constructors’ last year was how we helped one another out and how we kept things clean and how there was order when there was needed to be.
“But a lot of that was very much later in the season and when external things were happening.
“At the minute there is none of that, so it’s good – we’re both excited and we’ll of course always have our morning talks, but we’ll wait and see.”
McLaren aims to maintain teamwork
Piastri, who is aiming to kickstart his title hopes with a win on home soil, agreed that the pair must not place their individual ambitions above McLaren’s ultimate goal.
“We’re free to race each other,” the Australian concurred. “I want to win as much as Lando does.
“I think in any team, not just McLaren, the number one rule is no contact. We must give each other space.
“If there are opportunities for either of us to take advantage of situations, we will. But ultimately, we are racing for the team. That’s important.
“We’ve said many times that the teamwork we showed last year helped us win the Constructors’. It’s important to recognise that fact.
“The car has been strong for a while, but also the team is very strong too. That’s as good as I can put it.”
McLaren in a ‘strong position’ to handle drivers
The teamwork that Piastri alluded to included Norris returning the Sprint win to him in Qatar, while the Briton also held up Sergio Perez to help him triumph in Baku.
McLaren boss Andrea Stella is convinced that such examples vindicate that the side is in a “strong position” to manage the two drivers heading into this campaign.
“In Formula 1, you have to take all the opportunities to see where you can create, if possible, an even stronger foundation,” Stella said earlier in the weekend.
“This goes from the technical level to the operational level, and also to the sporting and racing level, including the internal competition.
“We definitely, like any other team, have looked at what could have been done better and what we had done well last year.
“Actually, we were quite proud of what we achieved, even in terms of internal competition, the respect, the relationship inside and outside the car, the head-to-head racing that happened at times between Lando and Oscar.
“They offered a couple of situations that we reviewed together, but offered a large majority of how we wanted to see our two drivers work together, race together, and this actually gave us a good reference as to how we want to continue for the future.
“I think that was a very, very collaborative, supportive process, and I feel that we are entering this season in a very strong position.”
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