McLaren ready for title fight between their drivers: Norris

Lando Norris says his McLaren team is ready for a no-holds barred title fight between him and teammate Oscar Piastri, should they continue to dominate.

Ten points separate the pair heading to Japan, with Norris on top of the standings, Piastri fourth and each claiming a win – the first time that McLaren has won the opening two races since 2003.

Teammate relationships can quickly fall apart when the same team’s drivers are the only ones fighting for wins and the title – a situation F1 last saw at Mercedes in 2016 when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battled, with the German coming out on top and then famously quitting the sport just days after the final round in Abu Dhabi.

Norris, though, says the team is approaching the competition with open eyes.

“We were free to race today,” Norris said. “I didn’t really have the pace to really get up to Oscar and he drove very well, so he deserved it. I’m sure we’re going to have some closer racing at some point I think we’re both excited, probably nervous and excited at the same time as I’m sure the team will be, but we’re ready (for it).

Lando Norris in action. AFP

“We know that, as much as we work together, have a good time and enjoy ourselves, we both know we want to try and beat each other and show our best, and that’s inevitable. There’s no point trying to hide away from that fact, or make something of it, we’re two competitors who both want to win.”

McLaren’s most intense – and infamous – teammate battle to date was between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1988 and 1989. The pair took the gloves off with their Honda-powered MP4/4 and MP4/5 cars the class of the field, with each claiming a crown before Prost left for Ferrari.

Meanwhile, Piastri hailed his “mega” McLaren after winning a Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday later overshadowed by the disqualifications of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc for technical infringements.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was also kicked out after Piastri led a McLaren one-two from pole position with Lando Norris second.

Almost three hours after the chequered flag, stewards ruled that Leclerc and Gasly had cars that weighed less than the 800 kilogram minimum, while Hamilton was found to have excessive plank wear underneath his car.

Leclerc had finished fifth and Hamilton sixth. Their points have been stripped with all the drivers below them gaining places.

Gasly finished 11th so was already out of the points.

It means that Esteban Ocon moves up to fifth, Kimi Antonelli to sixth, Alex Albon to seventh and Oliver Bearman to eighth.

Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz were promoted to score points for ninth and 10th respectively

It was a disastrous end to a weekend that had started so brilliantly for Ferrari when Hamilton took his maiden win for his new team in Saturday’s sprint.

The plank assembly is a skid plate which is designed to wear away when the floor strikes against bumps on the track or kerbs.

If it is too worn it can improve performance as cars can run closer to track, increasing “ground effect” down force.

Agencies