Lando Norris may have to contend with a stronger internal challenge at McLaren next season, with Oscar Piastri becoming more experienced.

Piastri has been a near-match for Norris throughout most of F1 2024, but the British driver has occasionally had a clear edge over the Australian – a situation that may change next season as Piastri enters his third season in Formula 1.

Martin Brundle: Oscar Piastri talent can’t be ‘parked’

Piastri struggled with race pace in his rookie season at McLaren, but had clearly identified this weakness and largely overcame it during this season.

With McLaren’s MCL38 arguably the quickest car on the grid this year, Piastri became a race winner in Hungary and, while Norris has led the team’s challenge for the Drivers’ Championship, the Australian has occasionally outperformed his highly-rated teammate.

But, with Piastri not a likely contender for the championship, Norris’ strengthening position eventually resulted in McLaren imposing ‘Papaya Rules’ to introduce a team orders dynamic to help Norris’ cause. But, given that Piastri was handed back the lead in Hungary and was permitted to race and beat his teammate home in Italy, those orders may have come a little too late.

While precious few clear opportunities to directly help Norris in recent races have emerged, Piastri duly moved aside in the Brazil Sprint race and Grand Prix to let Norris finish ahead of him, but did team orders come a little too late to help Norris’ cause?

It’s a question that was put to Sky F1 broadcaster Martin Brundle on an interview with Sky Sports News, in which he was asked whether Norris had had his title challenge undermined by McLaren’s unwillingness to order Piastri aside earlier.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

“Lando was very clear he didn’t want to win a world championship because his teammate had to keep gifting him stuff here and there.

“McLaren knows that they can’t just park a great talent like Oscar Piastri as second in the team and have to yield every opportunity because it’s really hard psychologically to get over that and to keep your credibility reputation intact.”

With McLaren learning how to be a frontrunner again this season, Brundle said he believed Norris had been given every opportunity to stake his claim for the leadership of the Woking-based squad.

“I think McLaren has learned a bit as well this year, being front runners for the first time in a very, very long time,” he said.

“I don’t think… they certainly haven’t hampered Lando. I think they’ve given Lando every bit of support that he needed and a car that’s been very fast.”

More on Lando Norris

👉 Lando Norris car collection: Custom McLaren 765LT Spider among his eclectic selection

👉 Lando Norris net worth: How rich is the McLaren star and how did his father make his fortune?

Fellow Sky F1 broadcaster Karun Chandok also weighed in on the Norris/Piastri debate on the channel’s own F1 podcast, and said it was clear Norris still had the upper hand over Piastri at this point.

“Winning a Formula 1 championship should never be easy and will never be easy,” he said.

“Oscar has come on leaps and bounds in terms – especially in his race pace compared to the previous year – but Lando has still had the upper hand.

“When you look at weekends like Austin, Oscar was sort of two or three-tenths behind. We’re still seeing the odd error, like we saw on qualifying in Mexico, we saw on qualifying in Brazil in Q3.”

While Piastri hasn’t quite had the measure of Norris in F1 2024, Chandhok said Norris should be prepared for a stronger internal challenge next season.

“All of that, I think, will get ironed out as we go into the third year and he’s got a bit more experience,” he said.

“I think that there’s going to be a lot of challenge from within.”

Read Next: Toto Wolff clarifies Lewis Hamilton ‘shelf life’ remark as Mercedes career end nears