McLaren were criticised last year for not imposing orders on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri early enough, but a decision was made during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday
McLaren star Oscar Piastri showed signs of impatience after being told to stay behind team-mate Lando Norris during the Australian Grand Prix. Much was made of McLaren’s lack of clear team orders until towards the end of last season, with some arguing that their indecisiveness cost Norris the chance to get closer to Red Bull star Max Verstappen and win the Drivers’ Championship.
When the 2025 season began on Sunday, all eyes were on how McLaren would go about treating Norris and Piastri. The McLaren duo had qualified in first and second place respectively, making them the favourites ahead of Verstappen, who started the Grand Prix third.
Piastri kept within range of his team-mate as the laps went by, desperate to win at his home race in Melbourne and make a case that he’s the stronger driver. Rain and changing conditions made it a stop-start affair, with Norris constantly having to slow down behind a Safety Car and have Piastri on his tail.
Radio messages between McLaren’s drivers and their respective race engineers have shed light on the situation, with some of the exchanges not heard on TV. On lap 29, when they were both close to lapping two backmarkers – Haas pair Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon – Piastri was told hold his position behind Norris by Tom Stallard until the track was drier and they weren’t behind any other drivers. “Okay. I’m faster, but okay,” the 23-year-old reluctantly agreed.
READ MORE: Lando Norris finds extra weapon in Max Verstappen title bid after key McLaren admissionREAD MORE: F1 chiefs immediately change rule after watching back footage of Australian GP
After he and Norris had lapped Bearman and Ocon, Piastri asked: “Are we still holding now that we’ve cleared the traffic?” Stallard responded, much to his driver’s disappointment: “Yes, hold for now.”
Piastri replied: “Yeah. Do I [unclear] tell you my pace?” Things then got more tricky for McLaren, as another oncoming shower of rain affected the race. “Oscar, latest is more rain building up, more rain building up. I’ll give you a time in a second,” Stallard added.
Were McLaren fair on Oscar Piastri? Have your say in the comments section.
That was just before Piastri ran wide at turn six, the same as he did two laps later to scupper his chances of victory. “Okay Oscar, we’re free to race now, free to race, you know the rules. Weather update, lap 43 could be more rain, heavier rain possible No rain until lap 43,” Stallard said.
It was on lap 34 when Norris was told by Will Joseph, his race engineer: “Okay, gap to Oscar’s 3.4 [seconds], you are now, both of you are free to race each other, you’re free to race each other.”
Unfortunately for Piastri, his race was effectively over on lap 44 following a slide into the track-side gravel and a skid which left him stranded on the grass. The Melbourne native did manage to recover and finish ninth, but team-mate Norris held onto P1 and won the first Grand Prix of 2025.
Piastri admitted that his mistake came from trying to ‘push a bit too much’. “In those conditions, it’s very difficult to judge just how slippery it’s going to be,” he explained.
“I think from one lap to the next, it had really changed a lot, and I could see Lando going off in front of me, but I was also already in the corner, basically, so there wasn’t much I could do to slow myself down at that point. And then once you’re in the gravel, in the grass, you try to keep the car, but I really got myself to blame for being there, so it’s a shame.”
Piastri will have the chance to make up the points on Norris at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend. After the season’s first Sprint race at 3am on Saturday, the Grand Prix will start at 7am on Sunday.
