Battle of the McLarens

Which McLaren star should take the Driver’s Championship trophy home?

Image found on @mclaren on Instagram

This debate is one of the hot topics of this season and one that gets a big reaction out of the die-hard Papaya army. Should the less experienced Oscar Piastri take it home? Oscar has shown an incredible performance this season with his current 31-point lead over his teammate Lando Norris.

After the disappointing race in Monza for Oscar where he placed 3^rd behind Lando in 2^nd and Max in 1^st, this was an unusual race for Piastri after his normal winning behavior. With Piastri’s 7 Gran Prix wins this season and Norris’ 5, the points are stacking up for the individual McLaren drivers and for the team itself.

The team is almost guaranteed to walk away with the Constructors’ Championship, but the question still stands as to which driver will win their very first Driver’s Championship. Lando has been a standout his entire career, always proving to the team that he can be consistent and reliable even when they do not provide him with the best car.

Even with Lando’s 6-year career in Formula 1 and Oscar’s 2-year career, some can say that their talent level is equivalent to each other. I would support this to an extent, where Oscar lacks fields, Lando excels, and where Lando lacks, Oscar excels. This is exactly why I believe they are the best driver pairings on the grid, and it’s clearly exemplified in the team standings.

But as to which driver deserves the championship, I can say simply, Lando Norris should walk away with it this time. Even though Piastri is showing more promise and has the lead currently, I would argue that he hasn’t paid his dues to Formula 1 yet and needs another year until he can take the championship away from Norris. Norris has paid his dues and even gotten the short end of the stick one too many times to just have this championship taken by his younger teammate. I will clarify that I would love to see either McLaren driver earn this title, I personally am partial to Lando holding that trophy up at the end of this season.