Oscar Piastri is experiencing a frustrating 2026 Formula 1 season at McLaren, and a difference in attitude compared to Lando Norris has started to draw attention. For the former category engineer, Rob Smedley, the behavior of the two drivers helps to understand how each sees their future with the team.
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McLaren has kept Norris and Piastri together longer than any other current duo on the grid, both with long-term contracts. Even after a 2025 season marked by the team’s dominance and the constructors’ and drivers’ titles, won by Norris, the performance in 2026 has not matched the same level, while Norris continued to hold the advantage over his teammate.
During the High Performance Racing podcast, one of the hosts raised the possibility of Piastri leaving McLaren in the future to seek an opportunity with another team. Smedley considered that a possible departure would make sense if a better option arose, but he mainly highlighted the difference in how the two drivers talk about the team.
“Yes, as long as it was a better team,” Smedley replied when asked about the possibility of Piastri leaving McLaren. He then emphasized that Norris frequently expresses the desire to stay at McLaren throughout his career, while he does not perceive the same willingness from the Australian.
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“Lando says all the time: ‘I want to spend my entire career here.’ He is in a honeymoon phase and loves the team, blah-blah-blah. But you don’t hear Oscar say that very often, ‘I will spend my entire career here,'” added Smedley.
The analysis comes after McLaren returned to the top of the podium in the last race in Hungary. A significant package of car updates contributed to Norris’s victory, a result that put the team back in the spotlight after a start to the season below the level shown last year.
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