It was as predictable as it was unanticipated. Anyone following Formula 1 felt that McLaren could not keep the two from tussling at some point. The Papayas had been playing nice in the sandbox, but were dealing with the issue of two top drivers looking to grab all the toys and trying to make the best sandcastle.
On Sunday (June 15), the Oscar Piastri–Lando Norris bubbling soap opera hit the major plot point people have either waited for or wanted since the McLarens have shown to be so superior in 2025. The biggest problem is that, really, it is much ado about nothing. Norris tanked his move and paid for it while Piastri still drove home to fourth and kept the lead in the drivers championship.
But is that really where the story ends?
Driver squabbles are nothing new in F1. Just ask Mercedes, who, when saddled with a dominant car, watched as Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton dueled with each other before finally crashing out together at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016.
The team managed to play the game of a cold war relationship between the two drivers for the season, but found relief when Rosberg walked off with the championship trophy at the end of that season.
Or look up Red Bull and how they managed Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in 2010. The Turkish GP became another highlight reel teammate do-si-do as the two collected each other in a clash of egos and fast cars.
Somehow, Webber and Vettel lasted two more years together at Red Bull before Webber found himself demoted to the sister team. By the end of 2014, neither was associated with the team.
These remembrances bring us to the clash in Canada. As the GP entered its final laps, Norris appeared to have the quicker car and soon sat in Piastri’s exhaust fumes. McLaren’s hands-off policy encouraged the two to race for the position.
But no team principal ever wants to watch his drivers take themselves out and ruin a good day for the team, especially in the constructors standings where the money is made. Norris, felt otherwise, seeing an opportunity as the end of the race came upon them.
Whoops. That looks like a misjudgment on Norris’s part. And his ensuing radio message supported the notion.
While the phrase ‘stupid from me’ seems like a perfect meme or t-shirt, taking responsibility for the move, directly after its ill-fated outcome, shows some self-awareness (which is more than his errant spatial awareness).
The key to these on-track confrontations is not really about the actual incident. When given a car with the potential to win the championship, every competitive driver is going to send it at some point; that should be expected. And like any athlete, competitive drive does not always equal an intelligent outcome. The trick is how the aftermath is handled.
McLaren has a problem that other teams envy. Either driver could walk away with the championship at the end of the year – the car is that good, and both Piastri and Norris have the ability.
The trick is to get them to get along without compromising team goals. That is where a team principal makes his money. While Zak Brown, team CEO, may be the one who frequently delivers the soundbites, it will be Andrea Stella who has to play team psychologist and see things through. As he does, the question that will hover will be whether or not there is another ‘stupid from me’ moment waiting to be had.
As a writer and editor, Ava anchors the Formula 1 coverage for the site, while working through many of its biggest columns. Ava earned a Masters in Sports Studies at UGA and a PhD in American Studies from UH-Mānoa. Her dissertation Chased Women, NASCAR Dads, and Southern Inhospitality: How NASCAR Exports The South is in the process of becoming a book.