Piastri and Webber have a close relationship, with the nine-time grand prix winner effectively acting as his manager and mentor.
Webber and Vettel had an infamously heated rivalry across their five seasons as teammates, marked by incidents such as the collision at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix and the ‘Multi 21’ saga during the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Norris predicted he and Piastri would eventually come to blows on track – and days after the comments, they collided at this year’s Canadian Grand Prix.
However, the relationship between the McLaren drivers is a long way from the breakdown between Webber and Vettel, at least according to Piastri.
“I think the situation is very different,” Piastri explained during Thursday’s press conference at the Austrian Grand Prix.
“I think Lando and I are very different people to Mark and Seb. I think the situation within the team, the situation in their careers, was also different.
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“Also, the incident in Canada didn’t warrant any big discussions or big decisions. It was a misjudgment from Lando that he admitted to and apologised for immediately.
“I don’t think it needed anything else. We knew going into this year that it was probably going to be a close fight between Lando and I with a championship at stake, so it’s no surprise to anyone that we’re kind of in this scenario now.
“Ultimately, just trying to make yourself as fast as possible and do the right things—that’s all you can do. I’ve said it multiple times before, but Lando and I don’t just want one opportunity this year to win a championship. We want this to go on for as long as we’re in Formula 1.
“The headline a few weeks ago was: “It’s not wise to fight for a championship or win a championship and bring the house down with it.” I think that’s still very much at the forefront of our minds, and we want this success for years to come.
“Having the team united is a very simple way of doing that.”
Piastri and Norris come together in Canada! 😱
Here’s the collision between the two McLarens 💥#F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/sKo3GRQ63Q
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 15, 2025
Norris quickly apologised for the clash in Canada that wrecked his McLaren MCL39. Piastri was fortunate to continue, despite contact. While Norris failed to finish, Piastri was fourth.
Heading to the Red Bull Ring, Piastri holds a 22-point lead over his British teammate. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is another 21 points back in third.
As for the rules of engagement, Piastri said nothing will change between he and Norris.
“Same as always,” he said.
“What happened in Canada wasn’t ideal, but we’re still free to race, still fighting for a championship each.
“So, no, keep going racing and make sure that we don’t come into contact again.”
“I think the biggest and most important thing was just that things remained fair from as many aspects as you can,” he added.
“Obviously, there are certain situations that are not always going to be completely fair—whether it’s strategy, because there’s only one pit box, or some other things.
“But I think that’s the biggest thing for both of us. Obviously, the first rule, regardless of whether it’s written down or not, is that the two cars from the same team don’t crash. I think that’s the big thing.
“In Canada, what we’ve done well this year is acknowledging that it’s a possibility. I think we dealt with it very well in Canada and since Canada. I don’t have anything else.
“I think what we’re doing and the way we’re going about things is the correct approach. It’s obviously a difficult one to navigate, but that’s a good problem to have in some ways. What we’ve been doing is good, and just a fair opportunity is what we both ask for.”
Montreal represented something of a blip on the radar for McLaren, who struggled relative to Mercedes and Red Bull.
It ended an eight-race streak of podium finishes for Piastri. Nevertheless, the young Australian expected the team to rebound in Styria.
“We got taken by surprise a little bit that we weren’t as strong as we hoped in Canada, but hopefully it’s a one-off,” Piastri explained.
“By the time we got to qualifying, I think we were in a better place and in the race, our pace was actually not bad, just we qualified a bit further back.
“I think we kind of understand what went wrong in Canada. So, we’ll try and have a better weekend here, but I’m confident we’ll be back on top form.”
Free Practice 1 at the Red Bull Ring gets underway at 9:30pm AEST.
2025 F1 Austrian Grand Prix – Schedule, how to watch, TV times & more
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