McLaren are desperate to end the ‘nonsense’ surrounding Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ 2025 title fight

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McLaren will be the team to watch in the second half of the 2025 season. They face a difficult situation as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris battle to become world champion.

The latter’s win at the Hungarian GP means that the former has just a nine-point lead as the season moves into the summer break. With just 10 races to go, the fight for the championship is set to intensify.

McLaren have reiterated throughout 2025 that their drivers are free to race each other, but that has caused controversy on occasion. Norris and Piastri collided at the Canadian GP, with the former retiring from the race after an ill-timed overtake down the main straight.

Since that race, Norris has arguably swung the momentum back in his favour with three wins from the next four races. He claimed his fourth win of 2025 at Budapest, but that victory was also surrounded by controversy regarding McLaren’s way of working.

The Brit was afforded a one-stop strategy after a poor start off the line, while Piastri was left on a two-stop, which left him settling for second. Zak Brown said Piastri reacted positively after the race, but Norris’ win leaves the title picture wide open for the second half of the season.

McLaren want both 2025 titles wrapped up ‘as soon as possible’ to end the ‘nonsense’ between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris

Andrea Stella has said ‘outright’ that McLaren won’t stop alternate strategies and will continue to give both garages complete freedom. But how they manage the drivers in the final 10 races will be closely scrutinised.

Piastri and Norris have never had trouble with each other, which Brown says dispels any rumours of ‘bad blood’ between them. However, things could quickly turn sour if McLaren are not careful with their drivers.

The Woking outfit are in a strong position to defend their constructors’ title and win their first drivers’ championship since 2008. Journalist Antonio Lobato says McLaren are desperate to end the ‘nonsense’ surrounding Norris and Piastri and win both titles ‘as soon as possible’.

“Look, let’s be aware. McLaren, regardless of what you may think, plot and concoct, all they want is to win the constructors’ and drivers’ titles with either of them as soon as possible so that the nonsense can end and they can be free to go on a real vacation,” he said via SoyMotor.

“Now they’re going on semi-vacation, but they know they still have ahead of them a final stretch of races.”

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

What Lando Norris must do to beat Oscar Piastri to the 2025 championship

McLaren plan to let their drivers ‘tear each other apart’ in the second half of 2025. It could be a scary situation for the team as it puts them at risk of drama, but it also sets up a tense fight that will go down to the wire.

F1 commentator Alex Jacques says Norris ‘can’t afford’ to drop positions at the start of races, speaking exclusively to F1 Oversteer. Mistakes have cost the Brit this season, but he has tidied up his act in recent races as he closes the gap to nine points.

Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Montoya has noticed Piastri being more agitated at McLaren with his recent comments. The Aussie seems focused on beating his teammate and will do whatever it takes to do it, evidenced by his aggressive lunge on the penultimate lap in Hungary.

Stella was not ‘keen’ to criticise Piastri for his attempted overtake, but the 24-year-old knows how the team go racing. Stella has been ‘brainwashing’ the McLaren duo by constantly reminding them of the team’s principles; they must not crash at all costs.