Every time Oscar Piastri enters the pits, he uses the radio to inform his McLaren engineer Tom Stallard that he has entered the lane. It’s a standard process for squads as they communicate ahead of a key moment in the race,

Critically for Norris, though, both Piastri and Verstappen head into the Monaco Grand Prix in fine form. The 25-year-old has scored just one race victory this season, and none since round one in Australia. Poor qualifying performances have left the Brit with too much to do on Sundays, and this has damaged his standing in the paddock.

In getting faster, the F1 championship leader has opened up a virtuous circle of improvement that enables him to go even quicker – and he has the right support network, too

Oscar Piastri has won four of six races with McLaren this season and is on a three-win streak ahead of Sunday's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

An odd qualifying (featuring crashes and delays) ended with a familiar front row and more frustration for the home team

McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are both fighting for the F1 title, but could their fierce competition hit the team’s chances of doing the double?

While Piastri was the year’s highest scoring driver during the European season, he was thrashed by the Briton in qualifying throughout, and his inconsistency at either end of the year was costly to his points tally. This season he leads Norris on almost all key metrics, some of which have totally flipped.

Former Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has doubled down on criticism of Oscar Piastri for his handling of the contract bungle that led to his signing with McLaren in 2023.An Alpine Junior driver,