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Oscar Piastri came into the 2025 Belgian GP with only an 8-point lead in the driver's championship over his teammate, Lando Norris, who is in second place. However, a dominant display at Spa Francorchamps led to the Australian extending his lead. Former F1 boss Guenther Steiner detailed how a potential slip-up from Piastri might disrupt the atmosphere at McLaren.
Lando Norris had been chipping away at Oscar Piastri's lead since the crash between the two at the Canadian GP. The British driver won the Austrian GP and the British GP, bringing the gap down to just eight points.
However, Piastri finished ahead of Norris in the Sprint race at Spa and won the 2025 Belgian GP to increase his lead to 16 points. Haas’ former team principal Guenther Steiner expressed that it would just take a retirement from the Australian driver, and Lando Norris would be in the lead of the title race.
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“You only need a retirement from Oscar Piastri and Lando wins, then he's back in front. At some point, if it really goes to the world championship fight, then both drivers will forget the papaya rules,” said Steiner, via Sport.de.
Despite the two papaya drivers going head to head for the title, the relationship between the two has been relatively good, unlike the previous times when McLaren drivers went head to head for the title (Ayrton Senna vs Alain Prost and Fernando Alonso vs Lewis Hamilton).
Lando Norris crashed into Oscar Piastri at the Canadian GP, putting the team at risk of a double DNF. Piastri was able to continue, whereas the Briton retired. The #4 McLaren driver immediately came on the radio and apologized for the incident, taking full blame for it.
Guenther Steiner believed that a potential slip-up from Oscar Piastri would bring Norris back in the fight, and that winning a World Championship was far more important than keeping a friendship. Explaining from Lando Norris' point of view, Steiner said:
“I always believe: I'm more likely to lose a friend than a World Title. The opportunity to win a Formula 1 world championship is something a driver has very few in his life. If I were Lando and I'm only a few points away, I'd forget the papaya rules for a moment.”
With the championship entering the business end of the season, i.e., the second half, the two drivers will possibly race each other harder than they have, which could lead to potential disruption.
Zak Brown comments on Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris battling for the F1 World Championship
McLaren CEO Zak Brown commented on his drivers' trading points every weekend, after the 2025 Belgian GP. When asked about which driver has the momentum, Brown explained how it's a “coin toss” between Piastri and Norris, as he said, via SkySports:
“They both do because they're winning a lot and getting one-twos. I think Oscar was a little disappointed with qualifying in Belgium. Lando was very happy. I'm sure he'll be a little bummed that he didn't win today, but it's coming off of two wins. I think it's going to be a coin toss every weekend.”
The Hungarian GP is up next and has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Lando Norris.
