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Cadillac F1 director Mario Andretti feels that McLaren has a slight bias towards Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri. Several incidents throughout the 2025 season and McLaren's in-race calls, which seemingly favored Norris, have led to the rise in this opinion among F1 fans and analysts.
One instance was the Italian Grand Prix, where the team asked Norris to dictate the pit stop strategy for both drivers because he was ahead among the two. And when a slow pit stop cost him, Piastri was asked by the team to let his teammate pass.
Another instance was at the recent Singapore Grand Prix, where Lando Norris bumped Oscar Piastri on the opening lap to secure P3. However, when the Australian driver asked the pit wall to take action against his British teammate for colliding and seemingly breaking the 'Papaya Rules', he was met with rejection, which he found "not fair."
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In a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Mario Andretti, an F1 and IndyCar legend, commended Piastri, who is leading the drivers' championship by 22 points and has been significantly more consistent and level-headed throughout. At the same time, he voiced concern about McLaren's seeming bias towards Norris.
I like Piastri for his grit, but it seems to me that at McLaren, for some reason - I don't know why - they favor Lando Norris," Andretti said.
Norris was very blunt in his response when asked about his Singapore GP collision with Piastri. Replying to those who complained that his aggressive overtake crossed the line, the Briton simply replied, "You shouldn't be in F1."
Andrea Stella expects McLaren to be "even more united" after conversation over the Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri Singapore GP incident
After the Singapore GP, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella shared that he hopes to have an honest and "good" conversation with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to put the controversy behind them for good. He used the example of the Canadian GP, where the drivers collided, leaving Norris with a damaged car.
In a post-race interview in Singapore, Stella said (via Sky Sports):
"We will review the situation together with our drivers, we will have good conversations, like we had, for instance, after Canada. This review gave us the opportunity after Canada to come back, we said at the time, even more united and stronger as a team."
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have shared a great dynamic since becoming teammates in 2023. However, this is the first season where they are fighting for the drivers' championship on equal footing. With only six races remaining in the 2025 F1 season and the duo separated by 22 points, tempers could flare, with the risk of McLaren losing peace within the team.
Because the possibility exists that their relationship could turn sour, former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has advised McLaren to prioritize Piastri, who leads the championship, over Norris.
