Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri match F1 feat for McLaren previously set by legendary duo

After a dominant Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris matched a feat only achieved once before in team history. They now have six 1-2 finishes in a single season, the most for McLaren in a season since 1988. The last time it happened was in 1988, and the men behind the wheel were Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

Piastri and Norris being mentioned in the same breath is no exaggeration. It shows just how far McLaren has come and how ruthlessly consistent its current lineup has been. Their latest win shows a team that once crawled through mediocrity during the turbo-hybrid era has now returned to its glory days.

Formula 1's official X handle revealed the numbers in a post:

That year, under Ron Dennis' leadership and with Honda power, the team won 15 out of the 16 races with ten 1-2 finishes. Prost won seven times, while Senna took eight wins and the title, which led to a fierce rivalry.

The dynamics between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are notably different. There is no infighting, no barbed radio messages or post-race cold shoulders - just two drivers executing at the highest level. Except for a brief flashpoint in Canada earlier this year, the partnership has been professional and fiercely productive.

The Belgium Grand Prix takes McLaren's all-time 1-2 tally to 55, placing them third behind Ferrari (85) and Mercedes (59). Ferrari's most recent double came at the 2024 Australian Grand Prix with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, while Mercedes hasn't achieved a 1-2 since Brazil 2022.

But McLaren's revival has been swift. They started with a 1-2 in China (their 50th) and followed it up in Miami, Spain, Austria, Britain, and now Belgium. It has led them into a real championship charge. After 13 races, McLaren sit atop the Constructors' Championship with 516 points, and a towering 268-point lead over second-place Ferrari.

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"Very little between our two drivers": McLaren boss clears the air amid intra-team battle for the F1 title

Lando Norris, Andrea Stella, Oscar Piastri, and the McLaren team celebrate in Spielberg. Source: Getty

Race day at Spa started with a delay. Steady rain led to a suspended start, with all cars directed into the pit lane. After a 90-minute wait, the race finally began under the Safety Car on lap 1, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri occupying the front row. In a running start on lap 4, it was Oscar and not the polesitter, Lando, who seized the moment.

Piastri used the slipstream on the long Kemmel Straight and went past Norris into Les Combes, taking a lead he never lost. With the track drying, the Australian boxed on lap 12 for mediums. Norris, opting to avoid a double stack, came in a lap later and chose the hard compound, betting on a stronger pace in the final stint.

That bet nearly paid off. He reduced the gap from over nine seconds to just over three seconds by lap 43. But the win was already secured. Post-race, Team Principal Andrea Stella offered a rare glimpse into how the team is managing the championship fight (via Formula 1's official website):

"There's very, very little between our two drivers, and this is because the two drivers are racing at a very, very high level. We're lucky at McLaren to have two drivers that deservedly are fighting for the World Championship. I think the difference will be made by the accuracy, the precision, the quality of the execution."

When asked about managing internal pressure, Stella reminded his time with former champions Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Raikkonen:

"Like I said before, we've two drivers, which to the standards that even myself in my career I've been close to, driving with multiple world champions. I think Lando and Oscar are operating at that level, at the level of deservedly being in contention for the Drivers' World Championship.”

Norris closed the gap, but Piastri's calm early move and relentless consistency sealed the race.

Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris after the F1 Grand Prix of Belgium Sprint. Source: Getty

As the summer break nears, the championship picture is clear: barring the unpredictable, the title fight is down to two. With 266 points, Oscar Piastri leads the standings, just 16 points ahead of Norris on 250. Behind them, the reigning champion Max Verstappen is fading with 185.

Edited by Rupesh