Oscar Piastri Backs Lando Norris Amid Criticism

Oscar Piastri comes to the defense of teammate Lando Norris after former F1 world champion Alan Jones criticized him as 'weak'. Get the latest F1 news.

Oscar Piastri has defended his McLaren teammate Lando Norris after Alan Jones, a former Formula One world champion, criticized Norris as “weak.” Jones had praised Piastri as a future world champion following his win in Saudi Arabia, which put him 10 points ahead of Norris in the championship standings.

Piastri responded to the comments, emphasizing that everyone has their own approach to racing. “Everybody is different,” he said. “For me, the most important thing is to try to do things in the style most natural to you.” Piastri's comments suggest he believes drivers should focus on their strengths rather than trying to emulate others.

🗣 Oscar Piastri comment on Jones critics to Lando:

"Obviously there’s different emotions and different ways of dealing with that. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way. I think it’s very individual to the person"

[ via @MotorsportWeek ] pic.twitter.com/wrwffQtkGm

— McLaren News | 🇬🇧 🇦🇺 (@McLarenF1_News) May 1, 2025

“When you try to do things that aren’t your natural way of being a person that’s when things become confusing. It’s when things start to go wrong.

“Everyone handles that differently. Lando handles that quite differently to how I handle it. Probably a lot of the emotions across the grid that happen regardless of whether they’re in the public or not they’re probably pretty similar.

“I think that’s just kind of how we’re wired as people and as competitors. Obviously there’s different emotions and different ways of dealing with that. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way.

“It’s very individual to the person. I’m quite different probably at the other end of the spectrum. If that’s what you feel is the best way of venting or trying to reset yourself then go for it.”

Lando Norris has faced challenges this season, particularly with the handling of the McLaren. Since his win in the season opener in Australia, he has struggled, including a crash in qualifying in Jeddah that impacted his race prospects. As a result, he has fallen behind Oscar Piastri in the championship standings.

Former Formula One world champion Alan Jones attributed Norris's struggles to mental weakness. “He’s coming out with all this nonsense that he’s got a bit of a mental thing, he’s dwelling on some of the problems he’s had rather than the positives,” Jones said. “When they start talking all that nonsense, you know you’ve got them.” Jones's comments have drawn a defensive response from Piastri, who supports his teammate.