‘Pleasure in failure’ – Piastri, Norris warned against ‘team-mate misnomer’ in F1 title fight

Heading into the final 10 races of an intriguing title fight, David Coulthard has laid bare the mentality that Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris need to win it – and that’s taking “pleasure” in the their team-mate’s “failure”.

After all, the ‘mate’ in team-mate is a “misnomer”.

David Coulthard: “And you take pleasure in their failure…”

McLaren is on course for the F1 2025 championship double, as the team could wrap up the Constructors’ title at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, round 17 of the 24-race season, with the Drivers’ to follow.

That, however, is a more closely contested event – although both contestants are McLaren drivers.

Piastri is leading the standings on 284 points, just nine ahead of his British team-mate Norris in a season that has seen momentum swing between the McLaren pairing.

But while even McLaren CEO Zak Brown reckons there could yet be a proper flashpoint despite McLaren’s papaya regulations, both Piastri and Norris are adamant there’s a line that they won’t cross in the title fight.

After all, said Norris, “In 200 years no one is going to care, we’ll all be dead.”

“Yes,” he continued about Piastri, “he is the guy I want to beat more than anyone else. But if I don’t beat him, then that’s just because he has done a better job.”

Oscar Piastri v Lando Norris: F1 2025 head-to-head stats

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

His words, though, have been taken with a pinch – if not a bucket – of salt by former McLaren driver Coulthard.

The Scot himself had a gentleman’s agreement with his team-mate Mika Hakkinen back in 1998 that whoever led the first lap at the 1998 Australian Grand Prix would win the race.

Coulthard, having taken the lead from Hakkinen, gave the position back to the Finn in the closing laps with Hakkkinen winning the race, and going on to win his first of two World titles.

Coulthard never won a championship.

It’s a warning to both Piastri and Norris.

“[Team-mates], 100 per cent it’s a misnomer,” the former McLaren driver told the Indo Sport podcast. “He’s not your mate. He’s your biggest rival.

“He is the person that your success is his failure and vice versa. And you take pleasure in their failure.

“It’s as simple as that because it leads and builds. You’re hoping that it psychologically creates a problem for them that will give you an edge.

“So in that respect, any sportsman or woman or any sports person will completely understand that you cannot feel pleasure in someone else’s success when you’re trying to beat them.

“You can admire them, you can shake their hand and show your sporting respect, but if you’re happy for your competitor to beat you, you’re not wired right.

“It’s a very volatile relationship to manage, and it’s one of the most difficult roles for the team principal, whether it was Ron Dennis for Alain Prost and [Ayrton] Senna, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet under Frank Williams, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

“These are difficult situations which inevitably we will see boil over at McLaren, as with Lando and Oscar.

“We’ve seen little signs of it. One of those guys will be World Champion this year, and it might be the only chance they get.

“Next year’s McLaren might not be any good. It’s a completely different sport next year. It’s still called Formula 1, but this could be their one chance.”

Momentum has swung between the McLaren team-mates this season with Norris taking the early lead before Piastri, clinching his third win five races, overhauled the Briton.

A DNF in Canada when Norris rear-ended his team-mate as they battled over fourth place didn’t help Norris’ cause, but three wins in the four races leading up to F1’s annual summer break meant he pegged the gap back to nine points.

With 10 races remaining, of which three are Sprint weekends, there are still 274 points to play for with Max Verstappen only 88 points down on Norris in the Drivers’ standings.

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