Oscar Piastri dismisses conspiracy fears and expects 'full fairness' from McLaren in 2026
Oscar Piastri expects ‘full fairness’ from McLaren next season, after the Australian driver watched his F1 title lead evaporate on the back of crucial pit crew errors this year.
Rejecting the growing speculation that his own team had conspired against him to help Lando Norris win this season’s Formula One drivers’ title, Oscar Piastri expects McLaren to give him a fair chance to beat his teammate next year and win his own world title.
A good-mannered Aussie lad, Piastri has never once pointed the finger at his McLaren team bosses whenever they made dodgy decisions that directly benefited Norris at the Melburnian’s expense because he maintains they both have been given the same opportunities to win.
And Piastri said he hopes that will remain the case regardless of the fact Norris has just become world champion for the first time.
“I don’t think that will change anything,” Piastri said.
“For me, he’s obviously had a great season this year and a deserving champion, but he’s still Lando Norris. It’s not like he’s become Superman.
“I don’t think things will change with that. I’m expecting full fairness from the team and equality going forward.
“I don’t have any concerns that that will change at all. Clearly, Lando had a very strong season this year, and ultimately did a better job.”
While Piastri hasn’t bought into any of the wild conspiracy theories that have been doing the rounds, he has shown his frustration at times.
He openly questioned why he was asked to hand back second spot to Norris at Italian Grand Prix because his teammate was slowed by a sloppy pit stop.
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He was also visibly unhappy when Norris was not made to return the favour after almost putting Piastri into the steel barriers in Singapore.
And the laid-back Australian was livid when he missed out on winning last week’s Qatar Grand Prix because his pit wall messed up by not pitting him when a safety car had been deployed.
While the Australian public were going nuts, Piastri calmly dealt with each setback, saying the tough calls were in keeping with the team’s philosophy of allowing the pair to compete against each other.
“It is a testament to the way we go racing. Obviously, it’s not easy fighting for both the Constructors’ Championship and the Drivers’ Championship with two very evenly matched drivers,” Piastri said.
“But ultimately, that’s a problem we knew we were going to have. At the end of the day, I think there’s a lot of good things that come from that.
“Yes, there’s difficult moments and tension at times, but I think both Lando and I have become better drivers from pushing each other to the limit.”
While Piastri is a cool customer by nature, the hope from everyone is that he does get a fair go in 2026 because he is a once in a generation talent who looks set to join Jack Brabham and Alan Jones as the only Australians to win the world title.
His chances appear much stronger while he’s with the powerful McLaren team so it’s understandable that he’s not biting the hand that feed him.
“Sometimes that’s been uncomfortable for everyone, but ultimately, yeah, it’s been a good thing,” Piastri said.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions throughout the year, and I’m sure we’ll have discussions in the off-season about anything we want to do slightly differently for next year.
“I think at the end of the day, they gave us both as good a chance as the team could have to fairly fight for a world championship, and that’s all you can ask for.”
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Originally published as Oscar Piastri dismisses conspiracy fears and expects 'full fairness' from McLaren in 2026
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