Lando Norris ‘sad’ Oscar Piastri will stay as his McLaren team-mate after title win | F1 | Sport

Lando Norris has admitted he is “sad” that Oscar Piastri will remain as he team-mate at McLaren as he is worried the Australian will get the better of him in the future. The Briton labelled his colleague as an “incredible driver” after pipping him to the F1 world title on Sunday.

Norris jumped above Piastri at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings at the end of October and went on to win the title by two points. Red Bull ace Max Verstappen, who won more races than anyone else across the 2025 campaign, ultimately finished second. And Piastri ended the year in third position, just 13 points adrift of Norris, after each of the McLaren drivers won seven races throughout the season.

Norris spoke about Piastri as he appeared on Fox Sports in the aftermath of his title win. And the 26-year-old, who finished second to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship last year, said: “I have to give congrats to Oscar because he’s driven incredibly.

“I’m glad I’ve had Oscar for the last three years because, even though he’s a lot newer to it than me, I’ve learned a lot from him and he showed me up so many times. And I’ve managed to learn a lot from him, and I wouldn’t be the driver I am today without that.

“He’s made me have to dig even deeper than I ever have before. By the mid-point of the season he was performing better than I was and doing a better job consistently.

“At some point he’s going to get the better of me because he’s an incredible driver. I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve learned a lot.

And Norris added: “Sadly, I’ve got a lot more seasons with him in the future so I look forward to those tough moments as well.”

Norris also praised McLaren chiefs Zak Brown and Andrea Stella for getting the best out of two drivers competing for title honours.

He explained: “I don’t think people understand how difficult it can be – as people have proven in the past – having team-mates fighting for a World Championship.

“For Zak and Andrea to have control over those things, it’s certainly tougher than just having one car.

“We take points off of each other, we make our lives harder, strategies more difficult, but the team would always take that [option] over only having one car performing for a World Championship.”