Oscar Piastri says McLaren gave him a “fair shot” at the Formula 1 title last season and expects the same treatment this year against champion teammate Lando Norris.

The Australian led the standings for much of 2025 but ultimately finished third, with Norris narrowly beating Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen by two points. Both Piastri and Norris secured seven wins each, compared with Verstappen’s eight.

“I think I got a fair shot last year, and I’m expecting that to stay exactly the same,” Piastri told reporters at a McLaren media event at the Woking factory.

“That’s not to say certain things couldn’t have been done better last year. That was probably clear to everyone watching, but for me, at no point were there any bad intentions or times when I questioned anyone’s motives. Situations could have been handled differently, but that’s part of elite sport and Formula 1.”

McLaren maintained equal treatment for both drivers last season, though controversies arose over the team’s so-called ‘Papaya Rules,’ including an incident at Monza where Piastri allowed Norris past following a botched pitstop.

A new era in F1

Formula 1 enters a new era this season with major engine and aerodynamic changes—the sport’s biggest technical shakeup in decades. With only a closed-door shakedown test in Barcelona so far, the competitive pecking order remains uncertain ahead of two official pre-season tests in Bahrain this month.

The season opener is in Piastri’s hometown of Melbourne on March 8, where he hopes for a better result than last year, when he spun off and finished ninth.

“Hopefully, it goes a bit better than last year,” he said. “It’s going to be such an unknown for everybody, so at this point I’m just trying to maximise the time in Bahrain, testing, and hit the ground running. But the support I’ve gained over the last 12 months, especially in Australia, will make it nice to be back racing at home.”

Piastri also reflected on his off-season downtime, including missing Australia’s successful Ashes cricket defence. “I went and saw the one game that England won,” he joked. “That was karma.”