Rick's F1 Out-Takes: Piastri vs Norris the gloves are now off!

I suspect Piastri would think, 'Okay, now that Lando Norris made that manoeuvre in Singapore, it means that for the rest of the season, he can go racing and do it aggressively' against his teammate, especially as McLaren has wrapped up the 2025 Formula 1 Constructors’ title

I think this is going to produce some fantastic races. It might produce some car crashes, but it’s probably the fairest, cleanest way they can approach the rest of the season while they’re fighting for a World Championship.

If you remember, the last time two teammates fought for a World Championship was in 2016 with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, and it was Rosberg’s mentality that, I believe, won him the title that year. He was talking to many people, including some mental health professionals, and they told him you’ve got to approach this in a completely different way.

After Singapore, for the first time ever, we heard Piastri on team radio not being happy, definitely angry at the situation. He’s always been Mr Ice Cool, but now the gloves are off. I think for the rest of the season, he’s going to approach it like: you’re my prey, Lando, and I’m going to chase you down at every single opportunity. I’m going to make you pay for the way you stitched me up in Singapore. I honestly think that’s going to happen, and that’s how the rest of the season will play out.

Norris versus Piastri, game on. As I mentioned, the gloves are off. Oscar is going to have a completely different attitude going into this now that the Constructors’ is tied up. He’s not going to obey any team orders on the radio.

We talk about Formula 1 and ask: is it a sport? Yeah, it definitely is a sport, and it’s got some interesting rivalries going on. Has the whole McLaren thing been handled well from the start of the season? Actually, yes. I think McLaren were out to win another Constructors’ title.

They played by the Papaya Rules, and they did it fairly decently. Both drivers, which doesn’t happen very often in Formula 1, kind of went, “Yeah, okay, we’ll stick to that.”

Then you saw the team swap in Monza, which Piastri abided by. And then you saw the aggressive overtake on Lap 1 in Singapore with Norris and Piastri. I think Piastri is now thinking, right, that’s it, if you’re going to be aggressive with me, I’ll be aggressive with you.

It’s the first time we’ve heard Piastri react negatively towards the team on the radio and towards Norris. So now, for the rest of the season, we’re going to have a showdown, and I think it’s going to be fascinating.

You can imagine a Turn 1 pile-up in Texas between Norris and Piastri because they’re going to be close in qualifying. So you think to yourself, okay, gloves are off, let’s go racing and let’s see who’s the most aggressive and best driver.

Having said that, it was lovely to see Lando get his elbows out in Singapore. If this had been a year ago, when he was fighting Verstappen for the World Championship, Norris would have backed down.

But again, psychology, and again, I’m thinking of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in 2016. Rosberg only won that title because someone got into his head and said get your elbows out, do not be intimidated by your teammate.

I think Lando has now taken the same attitude, probably two races too late in the season, but he now has that fighting mentality. It was great to see him get his elbows out and bump his way past Oscar Piastri in Singapore. I think Piastri was totally shocked by it.

Max can definitely still retain his F1 World Championship. It’s going to be fascinating. Red Bull are the only team still bringing upgrades to these Formula 1 races in 2025. They brought a new front wing to Singapore and it did its job.

It meant Max was able to compete on a track that, in previous years, they’ve often struggled on. Max has never had a pole in Singapore; he still hasn’t by the way, but he was definitely able to fend off Lando Norris. He was definitely able to set the pace and probably could have had pole position in Singapore if it hadn’t been for Lando disrupting his final fast lap in qualifying.

Austin in Texas is going to be absolutely fascinating. As I mentioned, McLaren, gloves are off. It’s anyone’s race into Turn 1. We know how tight Turn 1 is in Texas. You’ve got Verstappen with an upgraded car; they’ve finally unlocked the secrets to releasing speed in that Red Bull. It’s going to be fascinating.

Max has really got nothing to lose. He needs to go for it if he’s to maintain his championship status. Norris needs to go for it too because he’s in a points deficit against Piastri. If anything, the pressure is on Piastri, and we’ll see what that brings in America.