Piastri braced for title fight pressure to ‘ramp up’ as he reflects on relationship with Norris

Oscar Piastri has taken a moment to reflect on his battle against McLaren team mate Lando Norris this season, with the championship situation finely poised ahead of the decisive 10-round run-in.

Making the most of an ultra-competitive McLaren package, Piastri and Norris often found themselves in a fight of their own over the first 14 Grand Prix weekends – the Australian winning six races to the Briton’s five so far.

While there have been some dramatic moments, such as a collision at the Canadian Grand Prix and close calls during wheel-to-wheel scraps in Austria and Hungary, the two drivers have maintained cordial relations.

Speaking ahead of the campaign resuming at the Dutch Grand Prix, Piastri provided some more insight on the intra-team environment – and how the two McLaren drivers are balancing their respective bids for the individual title with the team’s collective goals.

“Our relationship hasn’t really changed,” Piastri, who leads Norris by a slender margin of nine points, explained in an interview for the official McLaren website.

“The competitive environment is quite different this year, yes, but our relationship is pretty much the same. The way we work together, how we try and help the team, and what we want from the car, it is all the same.

“I think we’re both very conscious that we want to have success with this team for a long time. That is not lost on either of us. Healthy competition is important, of course, but it is important to keep the team united, and I think we both have that in the back of our minds.”

Piastri, who is navigating his third season in F1, compared to Norris’ seventh, also reflected more generally on how he has dealt with the weight of being in contention for the title.

“I would say I’ve handled it well, but this has been the part of the year when the pressure isn’t really on in the championship fight,” he commented.

“Obviously, you don’t want to give away points, but it has been far too early to be thinking of the season in that way. At this stage, you just want to go into the weekend trying to get the most out of it as you can, rather than thinking of the championship overall.

“So yes, I think I’ve handled it well, but I haven’t concentrated on it much.”

Looking ahead, though, Piastri admitted: “The pressure is only going to increase from here. When we get to the latter part of the year, that is when the pressure will ramp up.”

While Piastri and Norris’ head-to-head looks set to rumble on, McLaren are cruising towards back-to-back Teams’ Championship titles for the first time since 1991 – boasting more than double the points of second-placed Ferrari in the standings.