The 2025 season has featured a number of fascinating storylines up to now – and one among these has centred across the more and more shut intra-team championship struggle that has been enjoying out between McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
From Spherical 1 in Australia by to the final race earlier than F1’s conventional summer season break in Hungary, the battle has seen its fair proportion of modifications in momentum – in addition to a dramatic collision alongside the best way.
We’ve been having a look again at how the duel has unfolded all through the primary half of the marketing campaign – with loads extra to return when the motion resumes on the finish of August…
Spherical 1 – Norris triumphs as Piastri loses out
When the season kicked off on the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Norris laid down an early marker by beating Piastri to pole place.
Whereas Piastri remained on the tail of his group mate throughout the first half of Sunday’s race, heavy rainfall within the latter levels resulted within the residence hero working off the observe, dropping him down the order within the course of.
All through the hectic remaining levels, Norris held place to take victory by simply 0.895s from Purple Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Piastri having to accept ninth place.
Spherical 2 – Piastri bounces again to win in China
Piastri was on the lookout for a greater outing when F1 moved on to Shanghai one week later – and whereas McLaren misplaced out to the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in Saturday’s Dash, Piastri grabbed pole place in Qualifying.
Regardless of a problem from Mercedes’ George Russell initially, the motive force from Melbourne appeared in commanding type as he led all through earlier than claiming his first win of the season.
Norris, in the meantime, reported a difficulty together with his brakes throughout the latter levels however held onto second place, giving the Woking-based squad a 1-2 end.
Spherical 3 – Verstappen beats each McLarens
Norris and Piastri dominated the highest of the free apply timesheets when Formulation 1 arrived at Japan’s Suzuka Circuit. Nonetheless, Verstappen triggered a shock by outpacing each to safe pole place.
Whereas there was an in depth second between Verstappen and Norris when each emerged from the pit exit on the similar time throughout Sunday’s race, the Dutchman remained forward and in the end grew to become the third completely different winner in as many Grands Prix.
The ultimate 10 laps noticed Piastri shut in on Norris throughout the battle for P2 earlier than his problem fell away in the direction of the tip, which means that Norris led residence his group mate in a 2-3 formation.
Spherical 4 – One other win for Piastri in Bahrain
After the opening three races, Norris led the championship by one level from Verstappen, with Piastri 13 factors adrift in third. Nevertheless it was Piastri who loved a stronger Qualifying at Spherical 4 in Bahrain, the Australian taking pole whereas Norris ended the session again in sixth.
From there it proved to be a formidable weekend for Piastri, who constructed a robust lead on race day earlier than ultimately crossing the road with a sizeable 15-second margin from Russell in P2.
Norris’ good restoration drive noticed him full the rostrum in third, however the Briton had misplaced a good bit of floor to his group mate within the championship, with Piastri having leapfrogged Verstappen to maneuver simply three factors behind Norris.
Spherical 5 – Piastri takes the championship lead
After topping second and third apply in Saudi Arabia, Norris appeared in promising type coming into into Qualifying – however issues unravelled for the Briton when a hefty crash in Q3 put him out of the session and left him down in P10 on the grid.
Piastri, in the meantime, lined up in second behind polesitter Verstappen. An early battle between the pair resulted in Verstappen being handed a five-second time penalty, dropping him behind the Australian who went on to say a principally untroubled win from there.
Whereas Norris recovered to a remaining results of P4, Piastri’s victory was sufficient to steal the championship lead from his group mate, making him the primary Australian to move the standings in 15 years.
Spherical 6 – One other 1-2 led by Piastri
The Miami Grand Prix was the scene of Norris’ debut win in 2024 and the British driver proved victorious on the observe once more throughout this yr’s Dash, with a well-timed pit cease bringing him out forward of Piastri.
That run didn’t proceed into Sunday’s race, nonetheless. With Verstappen taking pole forward of Norris – and Piastri again in fourth – a mistake from Norris initially dropped him again, whereas Piastri moved forwards and ultimately overtook Verstappen for the lead.
Norris climbed again as much as second and helped McLaren to seal one other dominant 1-2, permitting Piastri to strengthen his championship lead within the course of.
Spherical 7 – Verstappen beats Norris in Imola
Piastri was once more the person to beat in Qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, the Australian clinching pole place whereas Norris ended the session in fourth.
It was second-placed Verstappen who starred on race day, nonetheless, with the Purple Bull man making a surprising transfer on Piastri to take the lead on Lap 1.
The Dutchman went on to win, whereas Norris completed forward of Piastri in second. This put the hole between them within the championship at 13 factors.
Spherical 8 – Norris converts Monaco pole to victory
Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets of each apply session throughout his residence race weekend in Monaco – however Norris beat the Ferrari driver to pole place in Qualifying.
On Sunday the Briton held that place by Digital Security Automotive phases and a mandated two-stop technique rule to say his first Grand Prix win for the reason that starting of the season.
Whereas Piastri joined him on the rostrum in third, the 24-year-old’s championship lead had been lower to only three factors.
Spherical 9 – Piastri again on high in Spain
The momentum swung again to Piastri as F1 returned to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for Spherical 9 of the season.
After beating Norris to P1 on the grid in Qualifying, the championship chief returned to the highest step of the podium on race day.
Norris was not far behind, with the group securing one other 1-2, however Piastri had eked out his title standings benefit to 10 factors.
Spherical 10 – Drama strikes because the McLarens collide
Getting into into the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, Norris admitted that it was a case of “when” not “if” he and Piastri would come to blows on observe throughout the battle for the World Championship.
Inside a matter of days, that prediction had confirmed correct. After a barely weaker weekend for the squad basically, Norris was chasing down his group mate in a scrap for fourth throughout the closing levels of the race.
Contact occurred between them, leading to Norris – who took accountability for the incident – pulling off observe with harm, whereas Piastri crossed the road in fourth. It was an incident that McLaren Crew Principal Andrea Stella labelled as “not acceptable”.
Spherical 11 – Norris kickstarts a robust run
Off the again of that incident in Montreal, Norris appeared eager to bounce again on the subsequent spherical in Austria, having set the tempo in second and third apply earlier than grabbing pole place in Qualifying, with Piastri inserting in third.
What adopted on Sunday was an exciting race-long duel between the McLaren duo as they fought for the lead, Piastri remaining sizzling on Norris’ tail all through a lot of the Grand Prix.
Norris in the end saved his group mate at bay by 2.695s to seal his third win of the marketing campaign – and, after his non-score in Canada, the Briton was now 15 factors off within the championship struggle.
Spherical 12 – A house triumph for Norris and penalty for Piastri
Verstappen once more beat each McLarens to pole place at Silverstone – however a dramatic Grand Prix noticed the order change.
In an eventful wet-dry race, Piastri overtook Verstappen for P1 simply as rain began to fall. The Australian was later hit with a 10-second time penalty for slowing an excessive amount of when getting ready for a restart following a Security Automotive interval, handing the result in Norris throughout the pit stops section.
From there Norris claimed victory in entrance of his residence crowd, with Piastri coming residence in a barely much less comfortable second. His title lead had once more been diminished, with the margin now right down to eight factors.
Spherical 13 – Piastri returns to successful methods
The Dash spoils went to Verstappen as F1 arrived at Spa-Francorchamps for Spherical 13, the Dutchman having overtaken pole man Piastri within the early levels – however it was a struggle between the McLaren pair when it got here to Qualifying.
Norris outpaced Piastri by simply 0.085s to say pole. Nonetheless, after a delay to Sunday’s race attributable to heavy rainfall, Piastri was on the cost when racing ultimately obtained underway and made a daring transfer on his group mate alongside the Kemmel Straight to take the lead.
Whereas Norris went on the pursuit within the latter levels, he in the end crossed the road simply over three seconds adrift of Piastri – and, with that, the Australian had stretched his championship lead out once more to 16 factors.
Spherical 14 – Norris wins newest battle with Piastri
Hungary hosted the ultimate spherical of the marketing campaign previous to the game’s conventional summer season break – a venue that was additionally the scene of Piastri’s first Grand Prix victory 12 months earlier.
Qualifying threw up a shock consequence when Leclerc grabbed an surprising pole, and the Monegasque initially led for the early levels of the race. Nonetheless, whereas Norris had fallen away initially, an alternate one-stop technique put the Briton forward of each Leclerc and Piastri because the occasion progressed.
Piastri went on the chase of the opposite McLaren throughout the remaining section, offering an exciting conclusion to the Grand Prix – however Norris held off his group mate to win by simply 0.698s.
The influence on the championship? Norris is now solely 9 factors away from Piastri – and, with an additional 10 rounds to go when the season resumes, it appears to be like like there’s loads extra motion to return within the struggle for the title.
