Piastri makes McLaren equality demand amid Norris ‘Superman’ quip

Oscar Piastri says he doesn’t expect McLaren teammate Lando Norris to “become Superman” now that he has won the F1 world championship.

Norris clinched his maiden F1 world title by finishing third behind Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The 26-year-old Briton pipped Verstappen by just two points, but Piastri was Norris’s main competitor for most of the year, having led the world championship standings for 15 rounds.

But a six-race spell without a podium finish saw Piastri lose his grip on the title race at a time Norris enjoyed a purple patch of momentum to take control of the world championship at a crucial stage of the season.

Piastri does not expect Norris’s triumph to change his teammate, while he has demanded to receive equal treatment with the newly-crowned world champion next season.

“No, I don’t think so, I don’t think that will change anything,” Piastri stated. “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.

“So, I don’t think things will change with that. I’m expecting, obviously, full fairness from the team and kind of equality going forward and I don’t have any concerns that that will change at all.

“But yeah, I think clearly Lando’s had a very strong season this year and ultimately did a better job.”

Will the harmony stay intact?

Despite their intra-team rivalry, Piastri and Norris were remarkably able to keep things harmonious and avoid a deterioration to their relationship.

“I think it is a testament to the way we go racing,” Piastri said. “Obviously, it’s not easy fighting for both the Constructors’ Championship and the Drivers’ Championship with two very evenly matched drivers. 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. Sometimes that’s been uncomfortable for everyone, but ultimately, yeah, it’s been a good thing.

“We’ve had a lot of discussions through 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. But 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.”