Gabriel Bortoleto sees clear reason why some at McLaren could favour Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri

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McLaren can win their first championship double since 1998 this year, yet the papaya squad are having to fend off claims that they favour Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri.

McLaren last won the drivers’ and constructors’ titles in the same year when Mika Hakkinen lifted the first of his two titles. But the Woking crew have already won the 2025 teams’ title, and Norris now heads Piastri by 24 points atop the drivers’ standings with three rounds left.

Piastri was the papaya pal with more than just a nose in front as recently as round 15 out of this term’s 24. The Australian left the Dutch Grand Prix this August boasting a 34-point lead over Norris, which the Briton wrecked with a 46-point swing in the past three rounds alone.

Norris still trailed Piastri by 22 points following the Singapore Grand Prix in round 18, but he took P2 in the United States before winning in Mexico City and Sao Paulo. McLaren also saw perfection in Brazil, as Norris won the F1 Sprint and Sao Paulo Grand Prix from pole position.

Gabriel Bortoleto feels McLaren favouring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri would be natural given his time there

Piastri has struggled to match Norris’ momentum of late, having only managed P5 in each of the past three Grands Prix. But recent events have also caused growing speculation in the F1 paddock that McLaren favour Norris over Piastri, as they both fight to win the first title in F1.

READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge

Much of the speculation materialised after McLaren told Piastri to give Norris back P2 in the Italian Grand Prix, having undercut the Briton whom they had told would stay ahead if he let the Australian stop first. McLaren also did not act after Norris hit Piastri in the Singapore GP.

Gabriel Bortoleto, who left McLaren’s driver academy to join Sauber in 2025, thinks it would only be natural if some in Woking do favour Norris over Piastri as he has been with them for longer. But the Brazilian doubts that McLaren would actively leave Piastri at a disadvantage.

“He’s been there longer,” Bortoleto told Motorsport.com. “It’s like me being here at Audi for six, seven years and then a new guy comes in. It’s different.

“It’s like a co-worker you’ve worked with for 10 years and then a new guy comes in, you’re going to have a slightly stronger fondness for the person who’s worked with you longer.

“But that doesn’t mean the teams aren’t professional, nobody’s prioritising anyone. It’s a matter of, OK, maybe I like one more than the other.

“I don’t know what the atmosphere is like there. I was there for a short time, I wasn’t very involved in Formula 1, I wasn’t at the races all the time, but I think they both have the same priority within the team.

“They both have the same car, and they can both do a good job. So, if one wins and the team is happier when the other wins, that’s their problem.”

McLaren made an awkward situation for themselves at Monza that will now haunt them

Norris made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren during the 2019 season and has helped the Woking outfit move from the rear of the field to the cusp of a championship double. Piastri also got his F1 debut with McLaren when he replaced Daniel Ricciardo at the team in 2023.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Piastri joined McLaren at the start of the year in which the papaya crew made a true leap to becoming regular podium contenders again for the first time since 2012 from round nine of the 2023 season. And in his third year, he has been a real match for Norris for the first time.

But situations have developed the image that some at McLaren may favour Norris winning the 2025 F1 drivers’ championship over Piastri, instead of anything else. McLaren made an awkward situation for themselves at Monza and had zero reason to intervene in Singapore.

Still, McLaren gave Norris sporting repercussions for his crash with Piastri in Singapore that would have let the Australian have first call on when to go out first at the end of Q3. Yet the repercussions were instantly removed as Piastri crashed into Norris in the F1 Sprint at COTA.