Nico Rosberg issued 'out of control' warning to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as McLaren's F1 title fight steps up

Nico Rosberg has issued a stark warning to McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as their Formula 1 championship battle ramps up.

After nine rounds of this year's championship, Piastri leads the standings with 186 points, but his teammate is only 10 points behind.

The pair have a healthy gap over reigning four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who sits in third with 137 points.

It has led many commentators to believe this year's drivers championship will be a straight fight between the two McLaren stars.

But Nice Rosberg, who raced alongside two of the greatest drivers ever in Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, has issued a warning to McLaren.

Rosberg and Hamilton were teammates at Mercedes from 2013.

After a difficult 2013 season, Mercedes emerged as the fastest car on the grid from 2014, as the Brit won back-to-back world titles in 2014 and 2015.

In 2016, as they went neck and neck for the championship, the relationship between the childhood friends started to sour.

At the Spanish GP, the pair collided and both crashed out of the race. Later that season, they hit each other again in Austria.

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Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Rosberg opened up about what happened between him and Hamilton.

He said: "The relationship with Lewis started to be difficult on a really step-by-step basis. It was small steps which just spiralled it worse and worse and worse until it was very much out of control.

“The most difficult moments were the crashes and coming together. Who was at fault, who took the blame?

"It was incredibly intense at the time, in the heat of the moment coming out of the car. So, so tough. Lewis and I never really took the time to have an open conversation about it.”

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What has happened between the McLarens so far this season?

So far, Piastri and Norris have avoided any incidents on track.

The Australian leads the way with five race wins, whilst the Brit has two of his own.

Their one-two finish at the last race in Barcelona was particularly impressive, with McLaren building a nearly 200 point gap in the constructors championship over nearest rivals Ferrari.

After the race, team principal Andrea Stella spoke about the challenge of having two number one drivers.

"Managing Formula 1 drivers that compete for the same team on a fast car and in a quest for the championship is always going to be a difficult matter," he said.

"But so far we have approached it in a way that I think has allowed both drivers to express their qualities, their speed, and it's been a relatively good run so far."