Australian F1 legend claims of McLaren favoring Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri

Australia's last world champion, Alan Jones, has slammed the claims of McLaren giving Lando Norris the advantage over Oscar Piastri. Since the Italian GP, the 24-year-old has not finished ahead of Norris in any race format.

Norris started the year by getting into the lead of the drivers' standings at the season opener in Australia. However, his first tenure at the head of the championship was short-lasting as the Saudi Arabian GP saw Piastri move into the lead.

While the pair squabbled with each other on the track, Piastri remained in the lead. But this changed at the Mexican GP, where Norris retook the lead of the standings and has since increased the distance between him and his teammate.

However, people within the paddock have conspired about what has led to the 24-year-old's fall in form, with some suggesting it is down to McLaren favoring Norris. Jones subsequently quashed this theory, as he told ABC:

"No, I think it’s the greatest load of nonsense of all time. Every single season we come across this bullsh*t. Every time. It’s either Mark Webber against Vettel or it’s somebody [else]. It’s always at them ‘oh he’s got a better car than me’ or ‘he’s getting preferential treatment’, it’s absolute crap."

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri became teammates for the first time in 2023.

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Lando Norris claims his relationship with Oscar Piastri

McLaren's Lando Norris (L) and Oscar Piastri (R) - Source: Getty

Fighting for world championships often turns relationships between drivers sour. So, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battling it out at the top level of F1, moreover, for their maiden world championships, it risks tainting their relationship based on previous trends in the sport.

Both Norris and Piastri have different personalities in the F1 sphere, but their relationship has continued to blossom despite the title fight, as Norris claimed ahead of the Las Vegas GP weekend (via F1's official website):

"We're still very different people. He's calm, down to earth, very relaxed, always looks cool and that's something I admire quite a bit is just how plane sailing he is, it's a great attribute to have. Always hard to read what mood he's in and I think probably for me you see more visually what moods I'm in but otherwise, it's not like we go play golf together. In terms of relationship, we get along well, work together well and I think it's still better than it's ever been."

Norris has amassed 390 points in the 21 race weekends so far. In comparison to his tally, Piastri is 24 points behind him, with Verstappen a further 25 points behind the pair.

Las Vegas begins the final triple-header of the season, during which the champion for the 2025 season will be crowned either in Qatar or Abu Dhabi.

Edited by Geetansh Pasricha