Halfway down the Kemmel Straight, Oscar Piastri breezed past his teammate and title rival a little like it was a free practice session. You’d think the moment Lando saw the back of Piastri’s car, he’d given up the ghost right there and then.
It was anticlimactically tame. Now, truth be told, Norris’ hands were tied behind his back.
As Piastri showed in the sprint race, holding off the guy starting second is no easy feat. The slipstream and massive straight make that job more than difficult.
But with the rolling start and damp conditions, Norris had more than a fighting chance. Yet that was squandered.
It was all too easy for Piastri. Set Lando up through La Source, get him to take a tighter line than Norris would probably have liked. Then Norris made it even easier for Oscar — squirming on exit. Piastri follows him up and through Spa’s fearsome Eau Rouge and Radillion, using that big hole a car creates in the air and that was that. Battery pack issue or not, the overtake was telegraphed and Piastri pounced.
The race as it turned out wasn’t won there and then, but it sure felt like it.
Norris’ meek surrender into Les Combes won’t decide the title, there are 24 rounds in Formula One season, not one. But this moment might just define it.
The move was far from a knockout punch; the gap still only 16 points heading into Hungary. Hungary, which was the scene of Oscar Piastri’s first race win. McLaren somehow having managed to make Piastri’s maiden triumph look more like a crime.
Norris was instructed to slow down and let his teammate back past. Instructed to give away a race win. There was a bit of emotional blackmail on the radio to make it happen.
Norris was told by race engineer William Joseph that to win a championship he is going to need the team, and he is going to need Oscar. Post-race it felt like the team was walking around in papaya jumpsuits and carbon fibre handcuffs.
It was the right decision, Norris only being ahead of Piastri by virtue of pitting earlier. A privilege usually reserved for the driver out in front. Piastri was given a guarantee that McLaren would sort it out after the stop.
But the fiasco over Norris’ radio made for some uncomfortable optics.
A year on, with Oscar looking set to take that championship, one has to wonder what on Earth McLaren meant? Their twisted prophecy is now playing out right in front of their eyes.
Returning back to 2025, if Lando heads a fourth McLaren one-two in a row around the Hungaroring, that gap is back down to 9 points.
However, if Piastri gets his second consecutive win in Budapest that gap extends to 23 points. Just two points away from a full race win.
The narrative between the two drivers has long been framed as a contrast of strengths. When Lando Norris gets it together, his raw speed is being touted with the likes of Verstappen and Leclerc. But with Oscar, his race craft, steely demeanour, and unshakeable mental fortitude all combine to make a fearsome driver.
Lately, that narrative is being rewritten. Piastri’s recent performances forcing a new question into the conversation. Norris? What pace advantage?
Piastri outqualified his teammate around Silverstone, a track where Lando had never been beaten by a teammate before. Piastri was also the fastest man ever, in anything around Spa on Friday. Is Piastri now just outright faster?
Norris will need all his speed and extra if he is to beat Piastri in Hungary, before the teams head into the summer break.
The second half of the season also holds more tracks where Lando has been historically strong. Singapore, Zandvoort and Abu Dhabi were all exceptionally strong performances by the Brit in 2024. He demonstrated those flashes of unadulterated speed, leaving Piastri behind. That 16-point gap can evaporate and evaporate fast.
But the Australian is now a different animal altogether. Having seemingly fixed all the chinks in his armour over the winter break.
He’s no longer the rookie, the understudy. Piastri is the benchmark. Norris, the undisputed figurehead at McLaren, Zak Brown’s prodigal son is under attack and at risk of becoming the sidekick.
McLaren, to their absolute credit, have managed to keep their drivers under control, withstanding the minor blip in Canada where Lando inexplicably ran into the back of Piastri, Norris losing his front wing to boot. The team’s philosophy of ‘two number one drivers’ has helped win them a tight Constructors’ Championship in 2024.
But in attempting to keep both camps happy, they risk internal management spiralling out of control.
What McLaren told Norris in Hungary last year still looms large. The closest either of their drivers has been to disobeying team orders.
A year on, one thing is for certain: no matter what happens on race day. no matter what the team says, neither driver will be easing off on the main straight just to wave their teammate by.
They will not say goodbye to their championship.
About the Author: Moosa Niazi
Brisbane kid who’s chasing narratives. Cricket, F1 and everywhere in between, trying to justify the hours lost watching them.
Interesting take! I could definitely see the battery issue upon the restart being the defining incident, as Lando’s race engineer warned him to “use the overtake” to defend against Piastri at Kemmel, but it was already too late, and the race order was decided by Les Combes. Looking forward to more incidents like Mercedes at Spain 2016 though ;)
Yeah, Lando’s battery issue was weird. Zac Brown seemed to suggest that both cars might have had problems but was quite shady in the way that was delivered so I reckon Lando’s car was the most affected even if Oscar did have some sort of minor issue. If we get a Spain 2016, that’ll definitely give me something to write about.
As a redbull fan it’s hard to see max and the team start to slip away but love to see Oscar doing well
Yeah, 2026 does present something of an lottery in terms of competitive order so who knows what’ll happen next year.
Really interesting the way you’ve set up the result from last year as compared to this year. Safe to say any team orders are not happening.
I think people have got Prost and Senna in their head when it comes to Oscar and Lando, but it seems clear that the mental edge that Senna, Schumacher and Verstappen have is something that Lando seems to lack. He’s plenty quick but seems to fall short when it counts.
Lando’s mental fortitude is something that’s been discussed a lot. I will give him credit for being reasonably self critical but that also seems to tip over to a point where it’s detrimental.
Great analysis!
Thank you so much for the support. There will be more to come.
WOW!