Norris Contract Extension: Piastri Falls 55 Points Behind McLaren Teammate
Key Points
- Oscar Piastri sits seventh in the drivers' championship, 55 points behind teammate Lando Norris after 12 rounds of the 2026 season.
- Lando Norris has won two races this season and leads the qualifying head-to-head 12-4 against Piastri, with an average pace advantage of 0.071 seconds per lap.
- McLaren team principal Andrea Stella identified grip-limited corners and low-downforce conditions as areas where Piastri struggles compared to Norris.
Stella continued: "This requires a bit of mental effort, which gets him to lose a couple of tenths of a second because you sort of have to process rather than drive through pure instinct because what happens is what you expect."
Three specific factors have contributed to Piastri's underperformance this season. First, the reduction in grip-limited high-speed corners—where Piastri has historically excelled—has narrowed a traditional strength, as engines now use these sections to charge the battery. Second, cars carry less downforce than in 2025, a condition where Piastri is less comfortable than Norris. Third, Norris has continued elevating his performance throughout the 2026 season after demonstrating consistent improvement during the final half of 2025, when he won the world title.
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Piastri's 2025 campaign initially appeared on course to deliver his first world title, but his season unraveled in the final third. This year's struggles compound those difficulties, with the driver acknowledging that even had he retained the lead at Hungary before the gearbox failure, Norris's superior pace on harder tire compounds would have made the overtake nearly inevitable.
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza this weekend represents the next challenge, with Mercedes' 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli attempting to extend his championship lead. However, the resurgent McLaren team, led by Norris's recent momentum, figures to pose a significant threat to Antonelli's home-ground advantage.
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For Piastri, the Norris contract extension signals McLaren's commitment to the British driver as its championship protagonist, leaving the Australian with limited margin for continued underperformance as the season progresses toward round 13.
Sources: BBC Sport and other international news outlets.
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