McLaren team mates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri say they have been given clear instructions on how they may fight each other on-track.
The pair have locked out the front row of the grid for the season-opening race in Melbourne. Norris narrowly beat his team mate to pole position for his home race.McLaren’s management of its drivers was called into question several times last year. At Monza, the pair claimed the front row of the grid, but Charles Leclerc passed Norris after he lost time fighting with Piastri on the first lap. Leclerc went on to win.
Norris said the team has given the drivers clear instructions on how hard they may fight each other.
“There have obviously been discussions, we’re prepared because we know we’re going to have more of this kind of thing over the season,” he said.
“There are clearly rules we cannot cross. Both cars must always stay in the race, but we’re both competitors. That’s clear. We both want to fight for victories.
“But there are boundaries around the car – just a little more space here and there. We’re free to race, free to try and win races.”
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McLaren won the constructors’ championship last year but Norris fell short in his attempts to beat Max Verstappen to the drivers’ title. Norris acknowledged both drivers will be keen to seize the initiative in the championship at the first opportunity.
“What won us the constructors’ last year was how we helped one another and how we kept things clean,” he said. “How there was order when there needed to be.
“A lot of that was later in the season when external things were happening. Right now, there’s none of that. So we’re both excited. Of course, we’ll have our morning talks, but that’s normal.”
Piastri echoed Norris’s view that the pair are “free to race each other” tomorrow.
“I want to win as much as Lando does. He summed it up well. I think in any team, not just McLaren, the number one rule is ‘no contact’. We must give each other space.
“If there are opportunities for either of us to take advantage of situations, we will. But ultimately, we are racing for the team. That’s important.
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“We’ve said many times that the teamwork we showed last year helped us win the constructors’. It’s important to recognise that fact. The car has been strong for a while, but also the team is very strong too. That’s as good as I can put it.”
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El Pollo Loco
15th March 2025, 20:53
Sadly, looks like the race is going to be dry. 0% chance of rain forecast after 11 AM and even before that the chances are only 30%. So chances are that we get a slightly green, greasy track at very most.
rsp123 (@rsp123)
15th March 2025, 21:11
Two weather services I just looked at say there is >90% chance of rain in Melbourne during the race.
PeteB (@peteb)
15th March 2025, 21:36
The forecast I usually use suggests there will be rain for the start but nothing too heavy and most of it will clear out during the race. The heavier rain is around an hour or two before the race.
I’m not too bothered – I’d quite like a dry race to start things off. Rain is great once everything has settled into a pattern but the first race is already unpredictable as we don’t know who has good race pace yet.
Oxnard (@montalvo)
15th March 2025, 22:06
Eh, every radar indicates rain until at least 16:00 p.m., and they cannot delay the race too much as it’ll become too dark at the end of the race.
Oxnard (@montalvo)
15th March 2025, 22:06
I mean 4:00 p.m.
Jere (@jerejj)
16th March 2025, 1:18
@montalvo True, delaying would be viable by an hour at max.
Edvaldo
16th March 2025, 0:40
Easier for Max to push piastri than piastri to fight Norris.
Elvira
16th March 2025, 2:41
Not unusual for the pit wall to have deaf drivers in this regard.
But Norris has proven he can’t adopt that MO for an entire race and I doubt Piastri can either, so this is for the pitwall to call for maximising Contructor’s chances or calling off an attack that isn’t going to stick strategy wise.
As far as handing one driver or the other a leg up this early in the season – they’ve been pretty staunch, as they say in Melbourne: Buckley’s.
Doggy
16th March 2025, 3:02
Fair statement . However, if Piastri does not get close enough to challenge Norris, then the championship is over…also, that would indicate that his ceiling is not high and will become another Coulthard