Lando Norris may have won the 2025 Silverstone Grand Prix, but when it comes to McLaren, the victory wasn’t as clean as they would have liked. It came with intra-team controversy and a furious Oscar Piastri. Since the Australian believed that he was the one who deserved the victory, the atmosphere on the podium the two drivers shared with Nico Hulkenberg, was less than joyous.
The McLaren rivalry in Silverstone began during the qualifying hour. For the first two sessions of the day, Piastri and Norris went hand in hand, never landing too far from the front of the field. When Q3 came around, Piastri had the better start. He was the quickest out of all drivers after the first series of flying laps and hoped to carry the provisional pole until the end of the session.
While Piastri did manage to improve his time during the second run and keep his spot in front of Norris, there was someone who did an even better job. Max Verstappen surprised everyone when he put together a lap good enough to secure pole position. McLaren had to watch the position that seemed sure to end up slipping from between their fingers.
The Silverstone Grand Prix was tense not only for McLaren. The race was marked by rapidly changing conditions, crashes, and safety cars. With all drivers opting to begin the race on intermediate tires due to the wet track, chaos was sure to ensue sooner rather than later.
Verstappen managed to keep his lead as the cars came out of the first corner. Before the first lap had ended, the first virtual safety car made an appearance, having been called in after Liam Lawson and Esteban Ocon’s incident. It finished on lap four, only to be replaced by a second one a lap later. That time, it was needed due to Gabriel Bortoleto finishing his day early. This meant that Piastri had to wait a while before getting a chance to attack Verstappen. Soon after racing was allowed, the McLaren driver slid into the lead.
Piastri managed to stay at the front of the field for the first half of the race, despite more race-neutralizing safety cars, necessary tire changes, and incidents that led to drivers retiring early. His McLaren teammate was in third.
It seemed like there was nothing that could stop Piastri from taking the win. The situation changed around lap 21, during which the second full safety car of the race was preparing to dive into the pits. Piastri was driving right behind it and doing everything he could to warm up his tires before racing was resumed. For a reason that many couldn’t quite comprehend, he broke very suddenly. This caused Verstappen to accidentally overtake the McLaren, simply because he couldn’t stop in time. He returned to his position and reported the unsafe behavior to his team.
Piastri was noted for a safety car infringement. As race control began deliberating his punishment, Verstappen spun and fell out of the order. This meant that the top two were made up entirely of McLaren drivers.
A few laps after the incident, a decision was made: Piastri was to receive a ten-second penalty for his dangerous behavior. The Australian was furious at the decision and expressed his disappointment over the radio. He stated that he believed the punishment to be unfair, and that if the team agreed with his feelings, they should instruct Norris to give back the position. McLaren didn’t listen to the driver’s wishes. After serving the penalty during his final pit stop, Piastri lost the lead and was unable to gain it back before the end of the race. It was his teammate who stood at the highest step of the podium.
This wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last time the McLaren drivers end the weekend angry. The team is likely to win both championships, but will it be able to keep the peace between its two drivers as the season heats up? They are both signed for the next few seasons and will be forced to work together, with only one of them being crowned champion. In Silverstone, it was Norris who came out on top, but who will win the one trophy that they both want most?
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