Lando Norris admits to 'lying' and 'hiding things' from Oscar Piastri in McLaren debriefs

Lando Norris has revealed that he sometimes 'lies' to Oscar Piastri to get one up on his team-mates - amid recent reports that McLaren could have new driver line-up in their near future with the shock arrival of Max Verstappen.

The relationship between Norris and Piastri has always been an interesting one to view from the outside.

As two leading drivers on the Formula 1 circuit, McLaren has juggled which driver it champions, and even allowed the gloves to come off between the pair as they led the way in the Drivers' Championship points all the way through the 2024-25 season.

Ultimately, it was Norris who came out on top last year to win his first F1 championship, leaving Piastri 'uncomfortable' with the tense relationship between the two.

Now, Norris has revealed that the relationship isn't as bad as it may seem, but there are times where he needs to lie and withhold the truth from Piastri.

Lando Norris reveals how he 'lies' to Oscar Piastri

Speaking on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast, Norris claimed that white lies are often told between team-mates, and those sneak in to conversations to make sure that there is still a competitive strategy for each driver, specifically for McLaren’s duo.

“It takes so little to go in that direction as teammates, it’s easy to do,” Norris said.

“It can be a collection of things, it depends how strong you are as a teammate. It can be hiding things, just lying.

“You know, lying, not upholding to things you have said before the races.”

Norris insists that he doesn't do that often, and that there is a fine line that can't be crossed when it comes to ‘lying’ and executing team orders professionally.

He referred back to the time in Budapest 2024 where he followed team orders to allow Piastri back through to win the race, despite leading the championship at that point and losing crucial points.

“The team wouldn't be the same as they are now. [We] probably wouldn't have won the Constructors’ for the last two years, which probably means I wouldn't have won the Drivers’ Championship last year.

That's how easily things can go wrong in Formula 1. I think if I won that race, McLaren wouldn't have achieved what they have.”

McLaren paddock could be due a major shake-up

While Norris insisted that the drivers are on friendly terms, there could still be a huge shake-up in the paddock.

Previous reports claimed that Piastri was scouting a new home after watching Norris lift the F1 trophy, but ultimately chose to stay in orange this year.

However, talks could resume with other teams, as the Aussie could be set to be replaced by Max Verstappen.

Just this week, Verstappen initiated talks with McLaren after his Red Bull future became uncertain, putting the four-time World Champion in the hands of Zak Brown.

The most likely candidate to make way for the Dutch driver would be the hungry Piastri, whose driving style is similar to Verstappen's.

Norris is used to playing the team game and would likely fit better with Max, while aggressive wheel-to-wheel racing between Verstappen and Piastri would be excruciating to watch for McLaren fans.