McLaren Wipes Slate Clean for Norris-Piastri Championship Duel

McLaren’s Lando Norris faces fresh challenges in 2025 as he and Oscar Piastri begin the season on equal footing.

Lando Norris revealed he will not be McLaren F1’s number-one driver at the start of this year’s season. Despite clearly outperforming Oscar Piastri in 2024, he confirms the team is starting fresh, and he will need to prove himself again to be considered a leader.

“2025 is a fresh start, and Oscar has the opportunity to fight for a championship too,” Norris states. “Much of what you write and discuss comes down to the championship battle, the fight for the drivers’ championship, and that’s where many of the conversations and narratives began.”

“I earned the right to have some of those privileges by performing well throughout the season. I didn’t seek them out, and that’s certainly not how I want to win a championship. I want to go out there, give Max a fair fight, do my part, and win it my way.”

The Briton is pleased with the positive dynamic between himself and Piastri in 2024: “At times, there were moments when Oscar helped me a few times. Everyone spoke as though it happened every race. We went to Baku, and it was actually the opposite.”

“I put in some effort, and Oscar helped me secure a win in Brazil. Unfortunately, things fell apart on Sunday, and the opportunity slipped away, but I made up for it in the Sprint in Qatar. That’s our strength as a team, I believe. I don’t think other teams operate this way.”

“And that’s certainly part of the reason why we’re where we are as a team today, why we’re the best team in Formula 1, and why we fought for the Constructors’ title in 2024.”