Oscar Piastri extended his lead at the top of the Formula 1 world championship to 16 points by winning the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday. Piastri overtook McLaren teammate Lando Norris at the start, and that proved to be a decisive move.

The Australian boxed for medium tyres after the track dried out, while Norris went for the hard. The latter sliced Piastri’s lead on the more durable rubber, but he was still 3.4 seconds behind at the flag.

Norris had started on pole position, but as Piastri found out in Saturday’s Sprint (when he lost out to Max Verstappen), that doesn’t offer quite the same advantage at Spa. It was a rolling start this time after the safety car returned to the pits, but the result was the same.

Photo by Andrea Diodato/NurPhoto via Getty Images
It’s increasingly clear with each race that passes that McLaren’s rivals won’t be catching them, even if they’re bound to have some influence on the title race. Karun Chandhok expects Norris and Piastri to battle until the last round, with little to separate them.

Lando Norris says Oscar Piastri makes his life ‘tougher’ than Carlos Sainz did

In an interview for Sky Sports, Naomi Schiff asked Norris whether Piastri is the toughest opponent he’s faced as a McLaren driver. The Englishman made his debut for the team in 2019 and spent his first two years alongside Carlos Sainz.

When Sainz joined Ferrari, McLaren brought in Daniel Ricciardo, a serial Grand Prix winner who never gelled with their car and was cut loose before the end of his contract. That opened the door for Piastri, and now Zak Brown has locked down what he sees as the best line-up in F1.

Norris says that Piastri, as an all-round package, is better than his last two teammates. The 24-year-old has taken major steps forward between each of his first three seasons.

“For sure [he’s my best teammate],” said Norris. “I’m the one that looks at his data the most, that compares things the most.

“His raw speed, his talent, his ability to do things, to level up, to take steps forward when he needs to is better than what I’ve seen from my other teammates. It makes my life tougher, but in a good way because it makes me better.”

Nico Rosberg explains what Oscar Piastri’s body language told him at Belgian Grand Prix

As the table above shows, Norris hasn’t finished behind a teammate since his second season. He’s on course to do so this year, and the stakes are higher than ever.

Martin Brundle says Piastri has a ‘calm head’ that will serve him well in the end-of-year flyaways, when the tension will peak. There’s an argument that Norris is quicker at his absolute best, but that alone may not be enough.

According to Nico Rosberg, Piastri is certain that he will win the title. That much was clear from his body language at Spa.

McLaren won the constructors’ title last year, and now the two drivers are vying to be the teams’ first drivers’ champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.