Oscar Piastri reacts to tensions with Lando Norris: “Normal, like Hamilton and Rosberg at Mercedes”. There were some tense moments between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in 2025.

The problem of a lead driver
McLaren can celebrate the New Year just as it did after the final Grand Prix of the season in Abu Dhabi, having secured the Constructors’ World Championship title for the first time in nearly 30 years. However, throughout this recently concluded championship, there were some tense moments between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, particularly when there were no clear instructions from the pit wall about which of the two drivers held the lead role—especially with Norris closing the gap on Max Verstappen in the fight for the drivers’ title.

The ‘papaya rules’
This issue gave rise to episodes such as the well-known “papaya rules,” a team order management policy that emerged notably during the Italian Grand Prix. It allowed Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to compete for positions freely and fairly in case they found themselves in contention for a victory or podium finish.

Teammate rivalries seen before
Such complexities could resurface in 2025, and Oscar Piastri compared them to other famous intra-team rivalries in Formula 1 history: “If we’re fighting for first and second place every weekend, there will always be a bit more tension, I think,” he explained to *The Gentleman’s Journal.* “We’ve seen it in the past; look at Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. When you’re competing for first and second place, sometimes things can shift a bit. We found ourselves in that kind of position on a few occasions.

“It’s hard to have real friends on the grid because, at the end of the day, you’re always trying to beat them. Lando is definitely a tough teammate to go up against,” he concluded, “but I think that’s a good thing. You always want to measure yourself against the best.”