Piastri and Norris harmony ‘wasn’t a given’ after title scrap, says boss

McLaren boss Andrea Stella has claimed harmony between teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris “wasn’t a given” after the duo’s heated scrap for the 2025 title.

The Australian driver led last year’s championship by as many as 34 points on the trail to Abu Dhabi but was eventually chased down by Norris and Max Verstappen, causing him to finish third overall in a championship fight that he led for 15 of 24 rounds.

Piastri locked horns with his British teammate in their battle for the driver’s title, colliding on multiple occasions and forcing McLaren to mediate with team orders or “papaya rules”.

Given the multiple incidents last year, including dodgy team orders in Monza, a collision in Montreal, a collision in Singapore and a collision in Austin, it would not come as a shock that there was a rift between the pair in the following season.

However, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed at a McLaren Q and A last week that quite the opposite had happened, claiming “the relationship between them and with the team has actually become even stronger”.

“An aspect I’m really enjoying about our drivers is the way they’re working together,” Stella said.

“Whilst this might, in a sense, have been expected of Lando – given that he was ultimately the one to become champion, it was not quite so predictable for Oscar.

“(Piastri) instead has relied even more heavily on the team to accelerate his development, both on and off the track.

“It wasn’t a given that, after last year, when they found themselves battling for the world title right up to the final race, the harmony they’d built would remain intact.”

Stella also expressed his gratitude for his drivers’ adaptability throughout a rollercoaster start to 2026 for the papaya outfit.

“I am very pleased with how our driver line-up is performing in this early part of the 2026 season,” he said.

“For Oscar and Lando, as indeed for their 20 colleagues on the F1 grid, the impact of the new regulations has been nothing short of disruptive.

“The new generation of single-seaters requires not only an adaptation of driving style but, above all, much greater focus on understanding how to exploit the full potential offered by the new power units.”

Originally published as Piastri and Norris harmony ‘wasn’t a given’ after title scrap, says boss