Oscar Piastri says relationship with Lando Norris unaffected by title battle

By Philip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent, Barcelona

Oscar Piastri has claimed his relationship with Lando Norris will not spiral out of control as the McLaren drivers duel to become champion of the world.

Following his much-needed victory last time out in Monaco, Norris heads into Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix just three points adrift of his Australian team-mate.

McLaren have taken six victories from the eight rounds so far, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – the only driver outside of the British team to win this season – claiming this week that he no longer feels he is in the title fight.

“Of course it is an interesting dynamic, but my relationship with Lando at the track, and away from the track, is very similar to how it has been, and, if anything, we get along better now than we ever have,” Piastri told the PA news agency.

“The way we work together to give ourselves the best chance of success is still as strong as ever, and that has been a strength from the moment we have been team-mates.

“We get along very well. That hasn’t changed. I don’t expect it to change. But obviously we are both trying to win a world championship and only one of us can do it.”

Piastri and Norris are in their third campaign as team-mates but their first as direct competitors for the title. McLaren have declared both are free to fight – a noble philosophy but one that rarely ends well.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s friendship soured across three seasons as title rivals when Mercedes dominated the sport. Here at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya in 2016, Hamilton and Rosberg took each other out on the first lap – one of multiple flashpoints which led to Toto Wolff threatening both men with race bans.

However, Piastri, who at 24 is a year younger than Norris, continued: “We are both very different people (to Hamilton and Rosberg).

“If you look at Nico, he was towards the end of his career. Maybe there are certain emotions that take over and there is more at stake?

“For both Lando and I, we still have plenty of years left in Formula One. We want the chance to win the title every year, not just this season. It is a pretty good problem for the team to be in, and we have already put in a lot of preparation to contain any problems that might have already arisen.”

Piastri, in just his third season in F1, compared to Norris’ seventh, has four victories to his team-mate’s two this year, and has been the more consistent performer despite starting the year as a 9/1 title outsider.

Questions have been raised about Norris’ championship-winning mentality – although the British driver went some way to answering those critics in Monte Carlo a week ago.

“Lando knows himself much better than I do, but speaking for me, being mentally strong and mentally resilient is a certainly a strength of mine,” added Piastri.

“There is a lot of work that goes into that. It doesn’t happen by magic. What you see is what you get with me. But I still feel emotions, right? I am not immune to that.

“I feel pressure, I feel nerves. It is not like nothing is going on. But it is about how you channel that and getting in the right state.

“As a driver, you have to believe that you are the best. You have to go into every race thinking you are the best driver on track. And that has to be the mindset when you fight for the world championship, too.

“Would I be disappointed if I didn’t win the title? Yes. It would hurt, as it would for anyone. But I am still young and I hope I get this opportunity more than once. I don’t think it would be a failure, that is harsh, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to win it.”