Nico Rosberg has warned McLaren of the fragility of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris’ current harmonious relationship, questioning whether it could implode, and “soon”, as they fight for the World title.

After McLaren overcame the one hurdle that rivals anticipated could slow their MCL39, Spain’s flexi-wing technical directive, with a 1-2 result at the Barcelona circuit, the Woking team appears to be racing to the 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship.

There is harmony at McLaren, but how long can it last?

The big question is, will it be Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris?

Piastri, who has won five of this year’s nine Grands Prix, is leading the way on 186 points to Norris’ 176 with the Briton sitting on two Grand Prix wins.

Momentum has swung between the team-mates, the season beginning in Norris’ favour before Piastri came to the fore, the Briton then pulled him back, and now it is again with Piastri.

As such McLaren have refused to get involved with team orders, instead trusting the drivers to race freely under McLaren’s papaya regulations.

These rules were summed up by McLaren CEO Zak Brown last season: “Race each other respectfully. Give each other enough room and don’t touch each other.”

It’s a case of so far, so good in F1 2025.

Although Piastri and Norris have been in close quarters several times, and twice locked out the front row of the grid, they’ve kept it clean.

McLaren rivalry: F1 2025 head-to-head stats

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

The closest they’ve come to any sort of drama, not that it could be called that at all, was Norris’ “cheeky” attempt to grab a tow from Piastri to snatch pole position away from the Australian in Spain.

But 2016 World Champion Rosberg questions how long the harmony can last when the team-mates are fighting for F1’s biggest prize, the Drivers’ Championship title.

Speaking from the experience of having his boyhood relationship with Lewis Hamilton disintegrate during their time together at Mercedes as they fought for the title, Rosberg says that while McLaren’s papaya rules are good, it won’t be easy to maintain harmony.

“History tells us harmony can be fragile when the stakes are high,” said the Sky F1 guest pundit. “McLaren’s emergence as leaders in both championships could reignite a familiar tension

“The similarity between what Lando and Oscar are now, comparing with what Lewis and I had back then, it’s just the speed of the car.

“Every race out there, they’re fighting for pole position, race wins, but it’s still very harmonious. And the question is, can it stay harmonious like that? Or is it also going to run into big trouble?

“It’s difficult to treat drivers fairly, because there’s always one strategy that’s better than the other, or only one new part that arrives at the track and who gets that. To always keep it fair is very, very difficult.

“Unfortunately, these internal politics become a very, very important game to play if you want to be a World Champion.

“It’s very hard to have two number one drivers like McLaren have. So far it’s going great. And of course, it has so many benefits, because if you have two number one drivers, they’re pushing each other to higher and higher levels.

“McLaren’s papaya rules are exactly the right thing to do, make clear guidelines as to what is allowed and what is not allowed when the team-mates are racing each other. And also, in which cases does one team-mate need to race for the other and help the other?

“McLaren is in a fantastic position to fight for the Drivers’ Championship as well this year, but it’s also theirs to lose.

“The pressure rises significantly, and the driver situation is also one to watch for now, very harmonious, but might it go out of control soon?”

Brown weighed in on the potential of his drivers clashing, saying it’s not only inevitable but he hopes it happens sooner rather than later so that they get it done with and move past it.

“It’s definitely a matter of when than if,” said the American. “I don’t think it’s going to be anywhere near as exciting as everybody thinks, I think it’ll be a racing incident when that day comes.

“I think it’s inevitable.

“And you know, they’re two great characters. Neither of them are hot heads, so we’re not worried about it to a certain extent, kind of looking forward to just getting it out of the way.”

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