It’s a known fact that Red Bull has a clear hierarchy. Max Verstappen is its No.1 driver, and Sergio Perez has no choice but to play second fiddle. Unlike Red Bull, though, other teams aren’t as open about their intra-team hierarchy. Yes, Charles Leclerc might be who Ferrari put its faith in, but the Scuderia will never outwardly say it. That was the case in McLaren with Lando Norris until Daniel Ricciardo was in the team. Norris outperformed his Aussie teammate more often than not. When another Aussie joined him this year, it seemed like it’d be a level playing field. But the Japanese GP proved it might not be.

Oscar Piastri joined the Woking team this season. For someone McLaren CEO Zak Brown fought for against Alpine, the young Aussie is proving his worth. Since he started his F1 career alongside Norris, he’s been there or thereabouts with Norris, even better than him sometimes. The Japanese GP looked like it was one of those occasions, but McLaren might’ve just confirmed its bias.

Is Lando Norris McLaren’s No.1 driver?

Throughout the weekend in Suzuka, the MCL60s have looked really good. Last time out in Singapore, the Woking team introduced upgrades only to Norris’ car. But in Suzuka, Piastri got a taste of them, too. Norris was ahead of Piastri in all practice sessions, but when it mattered, Piastri pulled out all the stops and put his car in front. For the first time in his career, he set himself up for a front-row start. Qualifying in P2 ahead of Norris in P3, Oscar should’ve had the upper hand even on Sunday. Well, it didn’t work out in the Aussie’s favor as he fell prey to McLaren’s dodgy tactics to favor Lando Norris.

After both McLarens started the race on medium tires, Norris got ahead of Piastri off the line. While the Briton was clearly the faster driver, Piastri got the benefit of pitting at the right time—during a Virtual Safety Car—that gave him a huge undercut on Norris. After Lando was pitted, he was far behind his teammate. But as the 23-year-old made his way through the field, he was at the back of Piastri’s car in no time. Thinking about covering George Russell on a different strategy, Norris was keen to retake P2 from his teammate.

The Brit asked his team to swap the cars once, but when the team didn’t comply, he basically said the team was ruining his chances of getting the upper hand on Russell. Taking this into consideration, the team told Piastri, “Into Turn 1, we’re going to swap positions to minimize time loss.” Piastri had no choice but to let Norris through. Yes, Norris was faster, but the situation begs the question: Did McLaren really need to make that call considering its race pace has been better than Mercedes’ throughout the weekend? 

Read More: Norris Selfishly Urges Piastri to Resort to Senna’s “Disgusting” Tactics as Verstappen Dubbed Unassailable

Although Piastri might’ve gotten the short end of the straw during the Japanese GP, something did go his way in Japan. 

The Japanese GP marked Oscar Piastri’s continuing partnership with McLaren

McLaren started the season as one of the worst cars on the grid. As the first half of the season was coming to a close, the Woking team introduced a major upgrade overhaul. Sometime around the start of the season, Mika Hakkinen said McLaren would be challenging at the front in just a matter of time. People didn’t really believe him, but McLaren did what it had to. Its upgrades worked, and it’s now one of the strongest teams on the grid.

Since Piastri got his hands on these upgrades, he’s made the most of his opportunities. He’s proved why McLaren fighting for him last season was all worth it. Now that Team Principal Andrea Stella even believes that Piastri has championship potential, it was only a matter of time before McLaren extended his contract. That time was the build-up to the Japanese GP. McLaren announced that the young Aussie would be driving for the team until the end of 2026 (at least)! 

Do you think McLaren made the right call swapping Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri? Could they have covered Russell either way? And did this prove that McLaren, in fact, does favor Lando Norris?

WATCH THIS STORY | How Oscar Piastri Has Made a Scintillating Rise to the Pinnacle of Motorsport