Oscar Piastri is arriving at the Hungarian Grand Prix with strong momentum following his recent victory at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Despite the triumph, the McLaren driver remains grounded and cautious. During Thursday’s press conference—where GP-News.net was present—the Australian spoke about the growing intra-team rivalry with Lando Norris, who is currently his closest challenger in the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship standings. However, he also pointed to potential threats from other top competitors, including Max Verstappen, Ferrari, and Mercedes.
“In the last few weekends, the fight has mostly been between me and Lando,” Piastri stated. “But we still expect a lot of competition from now until the end of the season. On certain tracks, other teams will be strong. Maybe Max Verstappen, or Ferrari, or even Mercedes… you never really know what can happen. But I don’t let that distract me. I just focus on trying to win every race and extend the championship lead.”
While Lando Norris has recently shared his own theory on how to clinch the title, Oscar Piastri acknowledges that sharing the most competitive car on the grid naturally leads to an intense internal battle. “We’re driving the same car, which at the moment is the best on the grid,” said Piastri. “So it’s only natural that Lando is my closest rival.”
There is no sign of tension or controversy between the two McLaren drivers—just mutual respect and an awareness of how evenly matched they are. Both have demonstrated outstanding form throughout the season, and the balance between them may well prove to be one of the defining elements of the 2025 Formula 1 championship.
“Some weekends, we expected to have a comfortable advantage, but the gap turned out to be much smaller than anticipated. In other cases, we were stronger than we thought,” Piastri added. “So we just stay focused, taking it one race weekend at a time.”
The Australian now heads into the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring—a circuit that has traditionally suited McLaren well—with confidence and the hope of repeating his success from one year ago, when he claimed his first ever Formula 1 victory. However, Piastri is well aware that with top contenders like Max Verstappen, Scuderia Ferrari, and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team lurking just behind, no race can be taken for granted.
Each weekend presents new variables, and Piastri knows that the fight for the championship is far from over. With the McLaren MCL39 proving to be a dominant force in recent rounds, the internal duel with Norris remains intense—but outside threats are looming, making every result even more crucial as the season progresses.
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