'It's expected': Oscar Piastri anticipates 'equal opportunity' to teammate Lando Norris as both battle for title
Updated . First published at
Oscar Piastri expects to benefit from the same off-track opportunities as his McLaren teammate Lando Norris, with the pair set to battle it out for this year's world championship.
Four races into the Formula 1 season, McLaren leads the constructors' championship by 58 points from Mercedes while Norris tops the drivers' standings with a three-point advantage over Piastri.
But the team has been at odds with which of its drivers has ascendancy on and off the track, with a potential swing in Piastri's favour brewing.
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Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri in the drivers' championship with 77 points. Bryn Lennon/ Formula 1 via Getty Images
In the seasons since Piastri replaced Daniel Ricciardo at the Woking-based squad, Norris has typically been first to receive upgrades — a potential advantage which Piastri hopes to see balance out in 2025.
"This year, the situation is very, very different," Piastri said ahead of this weekend's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
"Last year, especially at the beginning of the season, we were incredibly keen to get whatever performance we could onto the car as quickly as possible, and we needed to make up a points deficit in the constructors' championship, essentially.
"This year, we're in a very different position.
"We already have a decent gap in the constructors' championship, and both of us are fighting for the drivers' championship.
"I think it's expected that we'll both have an equal opportunity and the same car to be able to fight for the drivers' championship.
"While we have the opportunity to keep it equal and have the same car every weekend, we should do that."
Lando Norris leads Oscar Piastri during the Japanese Grand Prix. Getty
McLaren led its rivals in the opening practice sessions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Norris and Piastri finishing 1-2 in second practice.
During the off-season, McLaren engineers and Piastri earmarked the Melburnian's qualifying pace as an area for improvement.
Last season, Piastri consistently lacked outright speed in qualifying compared to Norris.
As a result, Norris outqualified Piastri on 21 occasions across the 24-race season.
However, Norris has not been able to extract the car's full potential in qualifying at recent race weekends.
He struggled in Bahrain, starting in sixth place — his worst qualifying result this year — after a wheelspin in sector one cost him time on his final flying lap.
He also underperformed in China when he qualified third fastest behind Piastri and Mercedes' George Russell.
"The hard work we've been putting in definitely has been making a difference," Piastri said.
"I've felt comfortable in qualifying and felt like I've taken a bit of a step up.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri pose during the McLaren team photo following the running of the Chinese Grand Prix. Getty
"Last year, it wasn't much that I often missed out by.
"This year, I've had a couple [of] qualifying [sessions] just on the wrong side of that gap still, but also more qualifying on the right side of that gap now.
"It's been a lot of hard work in a lot of different areas trying to get those last few hundredths of a second, and I think it has been paying off."
Piastri secured his second career pole position inside three races in Bahrain, and so far is tied with Norris in the team's qualifying head-to-head.
With both drivers placed to compete for the world championship, their individual performance in qualifying is set to become even more crucial.
Qualifying results can influence pit stop preferences and the race strategy that a team will set for their drivers.
"Qualifying is incredibly important regardless of the intra-team dynamics," Piastri said.
"Pit stop preferences and whatever that causes [and] just the power of clean air is so important.
McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris with McLaren team principal Andrea Stella after the Bah AP
"Regardless of that, you always want to be qualifying at the front.
"With two drivers in the same car, I think with very similar pace, whenever you can be ahead, it's a pretty major advantage. So, it is going to be important to have [a] good qualifying.
"But we've seen in the past that it's not always everything; there're other areas where you can make up the difference if you do a good enough job."
Practice session three for the Saudi Arabian GP begins at 11:30pm (AEST) on Easter Saturday with qualifying to follow at 3am.
