From Zandvoort to Mexico City, the internal duel between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri has taken a new shape: McLaren has returned to victory and regained a technical balance that must still be confirmed in Brazil.
Since that pivotal Zandvoort Grand Prix, which acted as a “sliding door” moment for both McLaren drivers, they have alternated a series of results—positive for Norris and negative for Piastri—that led to a complete reversal in the Drivers’ Championship standings. In Saudi Arabia, the Australian claimed the championship lead for the first time and maintained it for most of the season.
Yesterday, Norris stole the lead thanks to his consistent improvement since that fateful Dutch weekend, frequently outperforming his teammate, who, by contrast, has made several mistakes and endured periods of struggle. Now, momentum seems to be firmly on McLaren #4’s side, though nothing is lost yet.
Despite a disappointing qualifying, Oscar Piastri demonstrated strong race pace that could have brought him to the podium if he hadn’t been caught in traffic with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the start, and the two Mercedes at the end. The Virtual Safety Car in the final two laps likely allowed Norris to take first place in the standings by a single point.
In fact, Oscar Piastri had already targeted the Haas driven by a formidable Oliver Bearman in P4—his best career finish. Those extra two championship points would have allowed him to enter Brazil ahead of Norris.
Oscar Piastri: not all is lost
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella highlighted his driver’s progress during the weekend, explaining the lack of performance as related to a driving style that did not suit the characteristics of the Mexico City circuit. Historically, Oscar Piastri had never finished higher than eighth there, making Stella’s explanation credible.
“After qualifying, we reviewed some data with Oscar. We understood how the car should be driven in these low-grip conditions, similar to what we saw in Austin. I think Oscar should be proud of how he managed the transition from Saturday to Sunday.”
However, watching Lando Norris’s performance in the same car makes Stella’s statement somewhat questionable. This McLaren has once again shown that it has no rivals when track temperatures rise. The MCL39’s greatest strength is tire management: while others must adjust through Lift and Coast, McLaren demonstrated that even when tires reach suboptimal temperatures, a small break is enough to cool them down and return stronger.
Additionally, in clean air, Norris was able to control the race at will. William Joseph, Lando’s race engineer, repeatedly instructed him to manage the pace early on, then push harder to dominate the competition. A thirty-second lead over second place is significant.
Lando Norris listened to by the team, brings McLaren back to victory
Associating the word “drought” with McLaren may sound odd, yet the team had not finished a Grand Prix in first position since August 31. During post-race interviews, Norris revealed an important insight.
After Singapore, the British driver had expressed his dissatisfaction with the car setup during a debriefing. From Austin onwards, he had already shown he could aim for top positions, but starting from the front row was essential.
“During that debriefing, we talked for half an hour, and I was trying to say that the car wasn’t what I wanted, and that if we didn’t make changes, we wouldn’t win any more races. This weekend, I felt I had a car close to what I aimed for, and in the end, it went really well.”
With this victory, Norris has reshaped the internal balance at McLaren, showing that work and trust can overturn even the most established hierarchies. Oscar Piastri, for his part, will need to regain the clarity of his best days to avoid losing the championship battle. In Brazil, it all starts anew: two teammates vying for a title that remains wide open.
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