Lando Norris admits McLaren nerves over potential title scrap with Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris has admitted his McLaren team will be “nervous” about the prospect of him going head-to-head with team-mate Oscar Piastri for the world championship.

Norris, 25, and Piastri, 23, both have one victory each after the opening two rounds of the new Formula One season with McLaren holding an early advantage over their rivals.

The British team, bidding to deliver their first world champion since Lewis Hamilton claimed his maiden crown back in 2008, have said their drivers are free to race each other.

And, although Norris has claimed McLaren are prepared for an intra-team duel, he acknowledged that there could be bumps along the road.

“We were free to race in Australia and here in China so I am sure we are going to have some closer racing at some point,” said Norris, who is eight points clear of Max Verstappen and 10 ahead of Piastri in the standings ahead of the next race in Japan a week on Sunday.

“We’re both excited — probably nervous and excited at the same time — as I’m sure the team will be. But we’re ready.

“Apart from Ferrari (Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc), I don’t think there’s another team that has two drivers that push each other anywhere near as much. And for us, that’s a huge advantage.

“It’s definitely something we’ll maximise because it’s helping us beat every other team at the minute.

“But we know that as much as we work together and we have a good time and enjoy ourselves, we also know we want to try and beat each other and show who’s best. And that’s inevitable.

“So there’s no point trying to hide away from that fact or make something of it. We’re two competitors who both want to win.”

Hamilton and Nico Robserg’s friendship grew toxic when they battled as team-mates for world championship glory at Mercedes between 2014 and 2016.

But McLaren team principal Andrea Stella is confident a repeat scenario is not on the cards with Norris and Piastri.

Stella said: “When it comes to the internal competition within the team, we have tried to be ready for that for a long time now.

“But like all the things in Formula One, it would be very arrogant to say ‘oh, now we are ready’. You learn because the scenarios are very complex and they never manifest themselves in the same way.

“So, just as we do for performance, reliability and operations, we also continue to learn in the way that the team is managed.

“For me, what is important is that fundamental values that everyone brings to support the interest of the team is healthy and according to our principles.

“We are very lucky with Oscar and Lando because that comes naturally. I am sure there will be situations but I am also sure that they will be reviewed and we will learn and grow even more in the way in which we protect the interests of our team.”