Oscar Piastri reveals why he’d be ‘concerned’ in an F1 title fight against Lando Norris

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Oscar Piastri has revealed what would leave him feeling ‘concerned’ in a title fight against Lando Norris if both McLaren drivers were in a direct fight over F1’s crown.

This year has seen McLaren emerge as a genuine title threat in both championships. But the Woking natives may have to favour Norris over Piastri if either is to take Max Verstappen off the Dutchman’s perch. Time is also running out for McLaren to decide to issue team orders.

Just eight rounds remain of the 2024 Formula 1 season and Norris sits 62 points behind the Red Bull racer. The Briton must outscore Verstappen by 7.75 points on average per round to steal the title away. But Norris has only outscored his rival by seven points over the past six.

Oscar Piastri will be ‘concerned’ if Lando Norris dominates McLaren battle in 2025

Piastri has also scored 110 points since Verstappen last won a race at the Spanish Grand Prix in June. In the same six-round stretch, Norris has scored 91 points and Verstappen has taken 84. It leaves the Australian 44 points shy of his teammate in the 2024 drivers’ championship.

Being the in-form driver over the last six rounds – in which Piastri won his first Grand Prix at the Hungarian GP and took three further runners-up finishes – convinces the 23-year-old he is ready to fight for a title. The Melbourne native also accepts he is not the finished product.

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

But Piastri will find it concerning if Norris comprehensively beats him if both McLaren pilots are in a position to battle for the drivers’ championship next year. While Piastri is happy with his results this season, he would rue watching Norris build a large margin with a title in play.

“I think the highs of this year I’ve been very happy with and I think have been good enough,” Piastri told Motorsport Week. “There’s still room to improve but I think it’s just doing that consistently, which is the big part.

“But I’d be much more concerned if I was leaving weekends going, ‘Wow I really need to find something special or really need to work on this’. It’s always just been, ‘I can do that, I just need to be able to do it every single time’.

“So, I think next year I feel like I’m ready. I’ve certainly still learnt a lot of things through this year and there will still be a lot of things to learn next year. But there’s also the case of I might not ever have that opportunity again, so I need to make sure that I’m ready.”

Oscar Piastri is proving his title credentials at Lando Norris’ expense

One advantage that Norris continues to boast over Piastri is extracting the most from his car in qualifying. The McLaren drivers are split 13-3 in the favour of the Briton in their qualifying head-to-head so far this year. Norris has also taken four pole positions while Piastri has zero.

If Piastri is able to close his deficit to Norris over a single lap, he would be in a great position to fight for the drivers’ championship next season. The Australian has already shown he can race wheel-to-wheel and beat his teammate, but will not want to keep coming from behind.

READ MORE: F1 2024 teammate head-to-head battles including race, Sprint and qualifying

Norris would also likely see Piastri beating him during qualifying as a major blow to his title chances next year. The 24-year-old is still yet to lead a race from pole position after the first lap in his career. He has registered five poles so far yet has often lost the lead before Turn 1.

Even Piastri took the lead of the Hungarian GP away from Norris at the first corner this year. The 2020 Formula 3 and 2021 Formula 2 champion got the superior launch and secured the inside line into T1, which ultimately set Piastri up to win his maiden Grand Prix in Budapest.

Piastri even took the lead of the Italian Grand Prix away from Norris last time out at Monza. But after passing his teammates into the Variante della Roggia chicane, McLaren favouring a two-stop strategy allowed Charles Leclerc and Ferrari to win with a bold one-stop strategy.