Piastri: McLaren showing ‘no favouritism’ in title fight with Norris

Oscar Piastri has made it clear that McLaren is treating him and teammate Lando Norris equally in the 2025 Formula 1 championship battle, dismissing any suggestion of bias despite a controversial collision in Singapore.

Heading into the final six races of the season, Piastri leads Norris by 22 points, while Max Verstappen lurks 63 points behind, steadily chipping away over the last three weekends. Verstappen’s victories in Italy and Azerbaijan, combined with a strong P2 in Singapore behind George Russell, have kept the title race tantalizingly open.

Meanwhile, Norris finished ahead of Piastri in Singapore after a bold opening-lap move that saw light contact with Verstappen, briefly overshadowing McLaren’s historic second consecutive constructors’ championship.

Singapore Incident Reviewed, No Bias

In the heat of the moment, while Piastri was thoroughly unimpressed with his teammate’s maneuver, Norris was absolved of any wrongdoing, with McLaren arguing that a contact with Verstappen had swayed him into the path of his teammate.

But the incident was revisited by the team in the following days, and Norris was held accountable for a move that could have ended very badly for both drivers. In Austin however, Piastri made clear that McLaren’s initial leniency towards Norris did not signal a bias in favour of the latter.

"Yes, I'm very happy with that," Piastri said on Thursday. "We analysed the incident. There has been responsibility placed on Lando, ultimately, in that collision. But I'm very happy that there's no favouritism or bias."

“We had a lot of discussions, as you would expect. Very productive. I think we're very clear on how we want to go racing as a team.

“The incident we had in Singapore isn't how we want to go racing. Lando has taken responsibility for that, and so has the team. I think it's quite clear for us as a team that how lap one unfolded wasn't how we want to go racing."

Read also:

• Norris: McLaren ‘held me accountable’ for Singapore Piastri clash

Piastri also weighed in on whether he should have been allowed past Norris during the chaotic first lap.

"In a live situation, it's very difficult to analyse that," he pointed out. "Assessing whether swapping would have been the right thing to do in that scenario is very tough.

“We talked through it out of the heat of the moment and discussed what happened with a few more points of data and stuff like that.

"Ultimately, I don't think you can really say what would have been fair to do in the race. I would say I'm not expecting it to be redressed on track any time or every time. But ultimately, we know how we're expected to go racing and if we don't, there's consequences for that."

Fighting Fair, No Priority Needed

With McLaren’s verdict settling the matter, Piastri is confident that both he and Norris can continue battling on equal terms for the rest of the season.

He is also comfortable letting Verstappen’s resurgence play out naturally without expecting any preferential treatment.

"I don't think so, no. I think every driver wants a fair chance to try and win a championship," the Aussie said. "For me, it's more than fair to let us both keep fighting for that. So, no, I don't think that's the approach we should take.

"I don't think what happened was purposeful, I think it was just a slight misjudgement. I'm not going to change anything in how I go racing."

As Piastri and Norris prepare for this weekend’s round of racing at the Circuit of The Americas, the McLaren duo remains locked in a respectful but fiercely competitive battle, focused on maximizing points while maintaining the team’s hard-earned harmony.

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