There is a clear hierarchy at McLaren – Lando Norris leads, Oscar Piastri plays second fiddle. The Aussie, out of fear or respect, doesn’t want to disrupt the team dynamics in only his second year in F1. But it is only a matter of time before the more competent youngster channels his inner Michael Schumacher and ‘selfishly’ gets the better of his more experienced teammate.

Schumacher was ruthless in his prime. Possessing the “rare talent” of building a great team around him, the former Ferrari driver always made sure he was given preference in intra-team battles. Though his ‘dirty’ tricks were sometimes questioned, the 7-time champion became F1’s most successful driver. While Oscar Piastri’s temperament is contrastingly cool, racing has similarly become second nature for him.

This leads former F1 driver Johnny Herbert to believe that “Piastri will take control of the situation within the team.” But the Aussie needs “a very strong mentality to do so,” he told Spanish publication AS, adding, “Fernando (Alonso) is like that. He is always able to come into a team and make sure that the team works for him. And I think we have seen it with Senna and Prost, Mansell, and to a certain extent, Sebastian Vettel. There are drivers who can achieve that, and Oscar is one of them.”

The 3-time Grand Prix winner also explained how Piastri’s rise above Norris will not leave everyone happy, as evident from his maiden F1 win at the Hungarian GP. “There comes a time when that selfish side has to come to light. Michael Schumacher (Herbert’s teammate at Benetton) did exactly the same, and Max (Verstappen) is doing it,” the Briton concluded. In only his second year, Piastri is already on par with Norris. Though the Aussie isn’t a 2024 championship contender like his teammate, his statement performances will give McLaren a headache.

Oscar Piastri casts a shadow of doubt over McLaren’s Lando Norris assessment

Lando Norris has experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in the first half of 2024. After 5 years of being with the Woking outfit, his loyalty was finally rewarded. The Andrea Stella-led technical revolution made the MCL38 a championship-contending car. The Miami GP should’ve been the first of many wins for Norris, but besides Mercedes‘ comeback, his teammate gave him a rude wake-up call.

Oscar Piastri came into his own quicker than expected and doubled the pressure on his teammate. “They are completely confused,” former Jordan F1 team boss Eddie Jordan said on the Formula for Success podcast. “Is Lando number one in that team? I said without any question, yes. And I’d still say that today if you asked me.” But give me a couple more races and we might have to adjust that,” he added, referring to Piastri’s sensational Hungarian GP win.

Though co-host David Coulthard believed that having two top drivers is a “good problem for McLaren to have,” how long can this go on peacefully? McLaren has witnessed the biggest of hostile intra-team rivalries in Hamilton v/s Alonso and Senna v/s Prost. If anything, they would be praying for their current pairing to not repeat history.