Lando Norris has admitted that it is inevitable that his relationship with Oscar Piastri will “change” as their battle over the Formula 1 championship in 2025 intensifies.
McLaren’s dominance in this campaign – which has comprised seven victories in nine rounds – has seen the title be touted as a direct fight between Norris and Piastri.
Piastri leading a McLaren 1-2 at the last race in Barcelona has handed him a 10-point lead over Norris, while third-placed Max Verstappen is another 39 points behind.
But while Norris and Piastri’s collaboration has remained cordial to this point, McLaren has recognised that a clash between them is destined to occur at some stage.
Norris has agreed that more testing times lie ahead, though he is uncertain about how he will handle the potential deterioration in the partnership with his team-mate.
Asked how he would deal with the dynamic changing, Norris told media including Motorsport Week: “I have no idea, because I’ve not ever experienced something different.
“So I don’t really know how to answer it apart from, of course, I think it will change.
“I don’t think it’s always going to be perfect, and we’re always going to get on as long as we probably do now, because I’m sure there’s going to be some tough moments, whether it’s this year, or next year, or the year after. I think we know that.
“I think we both know that there could be some trickier moments in the future, but until then, we’re team-mates, we work for McLaren, and that’s our job in the end of the day.”
Norris insists McLaren environment unchanged
Norris is adamant that it has been business as usual at McLaren to date in 2025, despite the team’s competitive position handing both drivers a shot at a maiden title.
Questioned whether he sensed greater tension at the Woking-based squad this season, the Briton answered: “No, not at all, really.
“Yeah, of course I’m speaking more from my side, and maybe Oscar said something different, but I don’t think he would.
“I think it’s the same stuff. We turn up, we go out, we drive as quick as we can, and we want to beat each other, and that’s it.
“At the minute, there’s no need for things to be any trickier than they normally are.
“Of course, you know, the data is open, all of these things are open, and that’s always the case it is in teams, but there’s no reason for it to be any different than it normally is.
“Yeah, like I said, it’s as simple as, we both go out on track, we both want to enjoy our lives here, we go on and we do the best job we can, and we go out.”
McLaren eager to avoid ‘downward spiral’
Norris repeated that both he and Piastri are eager to ensure that tense moments between them on track will not have a lasting impact on the atmosphere in the team.
“I think we work very well as team-mates,” he added. “I think we’ve helped the team in a very good way.
“I think there’s been plenty of examples of things not going as smoothly as they have done, and teams then going on a downward spiral.
“So I think that’s obviously what we want to avoid as a team, and that’s our priority.
“But yeah, it’s hard to know. I mean, I’ve always got on with my team-mate, because that’s something I’ve always wanted to do.
“Of course, the obvious thing, it’s not even a question, of course I want to beat them, and I’ll do whatever I can to beat whoever I’m against, and that includes my team-mates.
“But yeah, it doesn’t mean that if someone says a joke, we can’t laugh at the same joke. So it’s the way it is.
“We get on now. There are going to be tougher moments, but there’s no point trying to guess what they’re going to be.”
READ MORE – Why McLaren feels Max Verstappen will ‘fight more’ despite threat of F1 race ban
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