Oscar Piastri discusses his championship battle with McLaren teammate Lando Norris ahead of the 2025 F1 Hungarian GP. Piastri comes into this weekend following a stellar drive at the Belgium GP. The Australian took the lead from Norris during the rolling start and continued on to finish the race in P1.
Piastri dismisses Senna and Prost comparison
Speaking in the Drivers’ Press Conference, Piastri dismisses comparisons to other F1 championship rivalries, including former McLaren teammates Senna and Prost.
Senna and Prost had arguably one of the most intense and famous rivalries of all time. Especially during the ’88, 89′ and 90′ seasons.
When asked whether McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’ have any reference to this rivalry, Piastri stated how important it is to keep a “good team environment.”
“Not necessarily. Everybody knows the history of Senna and Prost and that rivalry, and other rivalries outside of McLaren.
“You don’t really need an example to set the culture that we have at the moment. We’re both very conscious that we want this opportunity of having the car and the team in this position for many years to come.
“The best way we can help as drivers, apart from driving fast, is by giving the team good morale and good confidence and making it a good team environment.
“That’s very important for us this year and going forward.
“We’ve all seen how it can go wrong, but we have a lot of reasons to push for it to not go wrong.”
The two McLaren drivers, Piastri and Norris, came together at the 2025 F1 Canada GP. Norris was forced to retire from the race after sustaining too much damage. Piastri went on to finish P4.
Oscar Piastri on what’s most important for the championship
During the 2025 F1 Belgium Grand Prix, Piastri seemingly made the least amount of mistakes compared to his Mclaren teammate. These differences arguably contributed into who went on to win the race.
Piastri discussed whether being the fastest driver or the one who makes the fewest mistakes is the key to winning the championship.
“Both ideally, you can make an argument for either one.
“You can be consistent, but if you’re consistently coming second, that’s not very useful. You need have both.
“At the level of the field and the level of my teammate, you need to bring your best.
“Inevitably, when you’re pushing that hard, there are going to be mistakes here and there because it doesn’t come without risk.
“You can’t afford to take things easy and try and be consistent. You need to push, and you need to be quick.
“Of course, you try and execute as best as you can, but you need both to win the championship. You can’t just rely on one.”
Piastri reflects on his performance at the 2025 F1 Belgium GP
After flying past Norris during the rolling start, Piastri nursed his medium tyres and made no key mistakes in order to confirm his victory at the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.
During the Press Conference, Piastri was asked what part of his performance he was most proud of.
“I think a bit of a combination of a few. I think the first lap overtake was crucial to winning the race, and I feel like I had a really good race start. Especially considering it was a rolling start.
“So, that’s what really put me in a good place.
“And then I think managing the Mediums was important.
“The pace the whole weekend was really strong as well.
“Even going back before Sunday, it felt like a really strong weekend.”
Oscar Piastri goes into the 2025 F1 Hungary GP 16 points ahead of his McLaren teammate and championship rival Lando Norris. Both drivers are free to race as their championship battle continues.
