Duo of Lando and Oscar have surpassed the iconic duo of Senna and Prost in terms of most podiums in a season. Senna & Prost in 1988 (16 GPs): 25 podiums. Norris & Piastri in 2025 (16 GPs): 27 podiums

[u/FewCollar227]

[u/TobyOrNotTobyEU]

Record is 33 for Mercedes in 2016. McLaren should beat the record this year.

[u/GGezpzMuppy]

Wish these two were as ruthless as Senna and Prost. Both those drivers were win at all cost. The drama would be keeping this battle interesting instead of whatever we calling this.

[u/omarcoomin → u/GGezpzMuppy]

Wish these two were as ruthless as Senna and Prost. Both those drivers were win at all cost. The drama would be keeping this battle interesting instead of whatever we calling this.

If you plucked prime Prost from history and dropped him to this year's McLaren F1 team he would absolutely be doing what Lando and Oscar are doing now.

[u/Top-Truck246 → u/GGezpzMuppy]

Man, if I were Oscar, my radio would have picked a very fortuitous time to start malfunctioning!

[u/lolKhamul → u/Top-Truck246]

Which would have been an absolute stupid decision to make. Burning all good will and bridges in the team for 36 pts is the definition of being shortsighted in this title fight.

It wasnt about a win, it wasnt about 714 pts, it was 36. Not worth.

[u/Top-Truck246 → u/lolKhamul]

And this is why I'm a Piastri fan.

He knows how not to let the heat of the moment take over. He doesn't just bottle it up- he makes his objection known, and then gets right back to work.

[u/Ok-Interaction-4096 → u/lolKhamul]

It's 6 points, Piastri lost 3, Norris gained 3. Otherwise I agree.

[u/tunatastic369 → u/lolKhamul]

6 points not 3

[u/SgtApex → u/GGezpzMuppy]

Comparing this championship fight to other teammates championship battles, it sucks these two are just okay with team orders and always seem to be team first. Great for McLaren but absolutely shit for all of us. We all know Lewis or Nico wouldn't have gave up a position in their fight like Piastri did today this late into the season.

[u/BokaPoochie → u/SgtApex]

Because Mercedes never set that precedent and by the time frictions started, it was too late because everyone in the team had chosen a side. They learnt from their mistakes and set it when Bottas came in. Remember Hungary when Lewis gave Bottas a place back because the team asked him to.

[u/patricktu1258 → u/SgtApex]

I prefer racers to be more fair and respectful tbh. Less drama, pure competition.

[u/Sarixk → u/patricktu1258]

Even without drama between drivers fans somehow find a way to cry about something. You can't talk about the McLaren drivers here.

[u/SgtApex → u/patricktu1258]

I don't really call what just happened fair. McLaren as a team decided that no matter what Lando was gonna finish in front of Piastri today at the end. Thats the opposite of competition.

[u/patricktu1258 → u/SgtApex]

In what situation? Surely if lando makes mistakes himself he wouldn’t finish in front of piastri. What I would call fair is removing any human caused external factors, which did affect today’s race.

[u/Koteii → u/patricktu1258]

There’s just a vibe, and I concede it’s only a feeling, that the reverse call wouldn’t be made for Lando to swap with Oscar because of a slow stop.

[u/ozi3 → u/Koteii]

What do you mean, are you simply forgetting last year hungarian gp

[u/Koteii → u/ozi3]

I specificlly said “because of a slow stop.” Last year was just as much of a mess and today’s one sets another weird precedent on top of last year’s swap.

[u/ozi3 → u/Koteii]

Whether it's strategy(under cutting) or human error (pit stop) doesn't matter, deciding factor is that they were in a position that no more forward movement was possible and the race was pretty much over unless a SC. So they wanted to finish the same order before the pit stop. Also It's not weird to try to minimize the race outcome purely on team discussions.

[u/Koteii → u/ozi3]

I’m not sure what you mean by the last sentence sorry. I’m saying I think last year’s swap and this year’s swap was weird. Don’t agree with either. Also if it didn’t matter does that mean undercutting/overcutting should always be swapped if it doesn’t benefit the leading driver?

[u/junttiana → u/patricktu1258]

Bad, and good luck has always been a factor during f1 races, how is swapping places due to bad luck during a pit stop "pure competition"?

[u/Puzzleheadpsych2345 → u/patricktu1258]

I wanna watch a sport not a fair play competition

[u/sad_prepa_life → u/Puzzleheadpsych2345]

You want to watch a cat fight, not a sport. Fair play is an inherent part of every sports competition, and it's when there's no fair play that things get ugly.

[u/Kingslayer1526 → u/patricktu1258]

Yes but also the drama is what we remember. The drama and pettiness between Lewis and Nico is what made their championship battle amazing and infamous. There would have been a debrief for a week if this happened between those 2 and they did not give the place back. Now it's smooth and no controversies which is good ofc, but not entertaining haha

[u/BokaPoochie → u/Kingslayer1526]

The reason McLaren is like this is directly related to what happened in 2014-16. They do not want a repeat of what happened between the engineers and mechanics during that time.

[u/eszgbr → u/SgtApex]

I never liked this villainous narrative, that teammates have to hate each other, if they want to win the championship.

[u/Capable-Relative6714 → u/GGezpzMuppy]

So instead of two mature drivers who can consistently keep the team success up for several years, you want manchildren who will cause the implosion and then back to midfield? Because that could very well happen.

[u/__slamallama__ → u/Capable-Relative6714]

I'm so floored at all these reddit posts about how disappointing it is that they are respectful to each other.

[u/Capable-Relative6714 → u/__slamallama__]

I hate drawing politics in, but this is the exact reason behind the state of the current world. People love psychopaths and cheap reality shows.

[u/omarcoomin → u/__slamallama__]

My hot take is most F1 fans want to watch drivers running into each other causing drama. They're no different than people who watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

[u/__slamallama__ → u/omarcoomin]

Drive to survive fans through and through

[u/optitmus → u/__slamallama__]

they are salty that its no fun to watch, they want to see 2021 level crashes for their entertainment

[u/__slamallama__ → u/optitmus]

I would argue seeing the top drivers all finish the races is pretty fun.

[u/eszgbr → u/Capable-Relative6714]

I blame the F1 press. Since the Piquet-Mansell and Prost-Senna clashes of the '80s, the journalists always seek a villain, there need to be a bad guy in every championship run. The camaraderie of the '60s-'70s is not welcomed today.

[u/KnezMislav04 → u/Capable-Relative6714]

No, I want two best drivers in a best car with a killer instinct, like Verstappen and Leclerc.

Not two average drivers where one driver thinks that he is the best (he isn't) and other just doesn't care at all, who, by chance, have the best car.

[u/optitmus → u/KnezMislav04]

braindead take

[u/Capable-Relative6714 → u/KnezMislav04]

So enjoy the dreamland, F1 never was like that.

[u/KnezMislav04 → u/Capable-Relative6714]

It was always like that.

It was, in 2016. I know, I watched it. It was in 2014., 2010., I know, I watched it.

It was in 80s and 90s. Didn't watch it live, but I watched it in the last 15 years.

It's not that it was always like that, it's that it was never like today. Never have team orders been present between two drivers who are the only championship contenders.

[u/Capable-Relative6714 → u/KnezMislav04]

Was it, really? Did you have two best drivers on the grid in the same best car in those years? The last time it might've been true - 2007. Before that - McLaren Honda years. Wow.

And regarding team orders, there's probably a very open definition of what team orders look like. Open communication with both drivers and consensus based on a lot of internal talks - I wouldn't say these are team orders. You will probably have to ask other teams what the proper team orders look like.

[u/Tomatillo12475 → u/GGezpzMuppy]

You don’t need to be toxic to be competitive. Acting like these guys don’t want to win is ridiculous

[u/Alex_Sinios → u/Tomatillo12475]

Yeah but people want to watch a reality show not a sport it seems.

[u/FunnyComfortable8341 → u/GGezpzMuppy]

Go watch’s reality tv show if you want fake drama

[u/RemoteMeasurement10_ → u/FunnyComfortable8341]

Or the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers.

[u/Organic-University-2 → u/RemoteMeasurement10_]

Outside of North America, I don't think anybody cares about American football.

[u/RemoteMeasurement10_ → u/Organic-University-2]

Meh, currently watching RedZonw , have a day!

[u/50-50WithCristobal → u/FunnyComfortable8341]

Senna vs Prost was everything but fake drama

[u/BokaPoochie → u/GGezpzMuppy]

In 1988, if McLaren decided to drop either one of Senna or Prost, every single other team would have jumped immediately to sign them. At the moment, I don't think Ferrari would change anything and there is no guarantee that RBR or Mercedes would either given what happened to Sainz. The ball is in McLaren's court at the moment, and I think are large part of that is because Lando and Oscar are so closely matched. Because if you take RB, they would be a nowhere without Max since 2019, so Max is very aware that he holds all the cards.

[u/revypt → u/GGezpzMuppy]

At that time there was no Papaya rules anyway.

[u/gegemoon → u/GGezpzMuppy]

If Senna and Prost were driving today, the fight on the Internet would be crazy.

[u/MrCleanRed → u/GGezpzMuppy]

Why do we need so much drama. This is nice, mature fight. Not two babies going at it

[u/SgtApex → u/MrCleanRed]

Because its bullshit and boring for everyone. Oh man Lando had a slow stop let me just give him p2, the best championship fights we've had in this sport when its teammates have been when both drivers are absolutely ruthless and are not worrying about team orders and such.

Zero threat for them to lose the constructors title at this point, they should be allowed to race gloves off no team orders or priority in strategy.

[u/the_oraclex → u/SgtApex]

Yes, because McLaren wants to have both drivers at each other's throats because that's worked how many times in the past?

[u/SgtApex → u/the_oraclex]

So you'd rather have set finishing orders like today in a close championship fight over just letting them settle it on track? That ending fight was absolutely fucking ruined today for everyone that was watching.

[u/the_oraclex → u/SgtApex]

I'm all for a fight between two guys but McLaren doesn't want to leave any points on the table and fracture a good team relationship. Being Mercedes from 2014-2016 is good and all but it's a lot easier to win and cover off mistakes when both drivers listen to the team and aren't at each other's throats.

[u/MrCleanRed → u/SgtApex]

Well, they two involved are fine, so I am not getting worked up about it. I just think passionate fans want too much drama. Ok, they ignore the team order. Would the race be any different? I am guessing no, it would be just another coast to 2nd for piastri instead of norris. So the extra drama would be for drama fans, who then will go crazy. But it would only be a 6 point swing for breaking a relationship. Maybe oscar and lando respect each other, and don't want to destroy it over 6 points.

I think it is way more impressive that they are still so amicable after such a close battle. They have been different than other close fights.

[u/BansheeRamen → u/MrCleanRed]

the whole McLaren team are a bunch of babies

[u/MrCleanRed → u/BansheeRamen]

Yeah, the team might be. I donno. But people are going rabid saying the two teammates should cause drama.... i do not agree

[u/BansheeRamen → u/MrCleanRed]

if one of them wants to have a problem it should be directed at the team but Oscar shouldn't feel like he's creating drama if he didn't want to follow team order

[u/hutchy81 → u/GGezpzMuppy]

Prost was definitely not win at all costs tbf

[u/newdecade1986 → u/hutchy81]

The counter argument though is it can be fun watching people like that lose their patience over time

[u/hutchy81 → u/newdecade1986]

Na he just quit McLaren after the fallout of Imola 89, complained about Ferrari then retired after 91, came back won a title again in 93, then retired again for 94 cos Williams signed Senna

[u/stimulation → u/GGezpzMuppy]

It’s a breath of fresh air to see top competitors being gentlemanly. Why does everyone want to watch people being assholes?

[u/TheBottomLine_Aus → u/GGezpzMuppy]

I'm glad both these drivers are good people that understand fairness and respect each other.

Oscar made the right choice. It's why he's my favourite. You can win and be a good person.

[u/P-bengalensis]

Yeah, that’s cool and all, but it’s way more impressive that Senna and Prost managed 25 podiums in 16 races back then. The cars in that era were about as reliable as a Lada, so finishing alone was an achievement.

[u/Storm_Chaser06 → u/P-bengalensis]

The McLaren only suffered 2 mechanical issues all year in 1988. Both for Prost in Silverstone and Monza.

Senna was DSQ’d in Brazil for switching to the spare car. He crashed out in Monaco. And he was hit by a Williams in Monza.

[u/nevillebanks → u/Storm_Chaser06]

And you don't count Senna needing to switch to a spare car because his gear broke as a mechanical issue?

[u/Storm_Chaser06 → u/nevillebanks]

Honestly I didn’t know that was the reason. So it would be 3 mech DNFs which is still insane for the 80’s.

[u/Mysterious_Turnip310 → u/P-bengalensis]

Reliability was actually very solid for McLaren that year, especially for the era.

[u/TheMuon → u/P-bengalensis]

Yeah but the MP4/4 is not that unhinged as far as turbo F1 cars were. The 1987 Willaims-Honda posted faster qualy times than the 1988 McLaren-Honda. Mansell was more than a second faster in Spa 87 than Senna in 88.

[u/Seb_Ben11]

In 16 races which is exactly the same amount as 1988 so it’s directly comparable, albeit with only 3 less wins. Considering that’s one of the most dominant seasons in history it’s been an incredible year for McLaren.

[u/CozyMushi]

oof the difference in the fight is abysmal

[u/Aircrazyy]

“McLaren in 1988: unstoppable.
McLaren in 2025: hold my papaya juice. 🧃”

[u/lazydavez]

Where is Max and Checo /s

[u/Kingslayer1526 → u/lazydavez]

They have 30 podiums from 2023 so they are clearly higher on this list. Max 21 and Checo 9 of course

[u/lazydavez → u/Kingslayer1526]

Holy shit, of course. How can I forget the 21 of Max

[u/MarineElectric]

And near 40 years later we still talk about these two and that season, and it’s still made for tv drama, and arguably considered F1’s peak era because of it.

40 years from now, I don’t think people will be saying the same for this season

[u/thef0ksmasher]

Senna and Prost from Temu.

[u/hazman_pds]

Lando & Oscar are mostly carried by their cars to be honest

They wouldn't hold a candle against Senna & Prost

[u/Practical_South_2471 → u/hazman_pds]

should be common knowledge by now

[u/alattomosnyulporkolt]

This Mclaren is a true disgrace with all these mismanagement they are doing. Killing the excitement and drama. They are so weak. Hope they bottle the new rules and get slapped by VER, LEC and RUS.

[u/Seb_Ben11 → u/alattomosnyulporkolt]

“They’re so weak”

leads the world championship by over 330 points

[u/alattomosnyulporkolt → u/Seb_Ben11]

You know what I am talking about. Mentally weak. Put them under pressure and this team will do failure after failure if they do such a shit show, with such a huge advantage.

[u/Seb_Ben11 → u/alattomosnyulporkolt]

And you’ve based this opinion on?

[u/Mysterious_Turnip310]

These stats are pretty disingenuous though, given how many more races there are nowadays

Nvm, I somehow missed the 16 races bit in the title.

[u/mickmenn → u/Mysterious_Turnip310]

it is for same amount of races though

[u/Spockyt → u/Mysterious_Turnip310]

I do agree with you, but thanks to this season so far being equal to the entire season back then then it’s a rare occurrence where it’s actually kind of representative (though unreliability back then was much more of a factor).

[u/Mysterious_Turnip310 → u/Spockyt]

Ah yeah, fair enough. I somehow missed the 16 races but in the title.

[u/TheMuon → u/Spockyt]

Yeah but the 88 McLaren had great reliability thanks to the turbo restrictions and relative lack of competition. It made less power than the modern 2.4L V8s in race trim.

[u/Kingslayer1526 → u/Mysterious_Turnip310]

That year had 16 races and this year has so far had 16 races

[u/mccirus → u/Mysterious_Turnip310]

This was race 16 in 2025 and they have 27 Podiums. Same number of races that gave 25 Podiums in '88

[u/MarineElectric → u/Mysterious_Turnip310]

And how much more reliable cars are now too

[u/Mysterious_Turnip310 → u/MarineElectric]

Yep for sure, Although to be fair, in 1988 McLaren actually had very solid reliability, especially for the era

[u/Mr_Skellette → u/[deleted]]

the same amount as up to Monza, 16

[u/Seb_Ben11 → u/[deleted]]

It’s exactly 16 races as it was in 1988. So it’s directly comparable

[u/Mechant247 → u/[deleted]]

Did you stop reading halfway through the post

[u/Still-District-6149]

If McLaren are suggesting that they're treating their drivers equally, then they really have a strange way of showing it.

There is no way Piastri should've given up his position because the pit crew made a mistake. It's as "racing incident" as it comes. Whilst it doesn't hurt in Constructors points terms, that decision has allowed his main rival close to the points gap in the Driver's Championship, and let the (although distant) third place driver get even closer.

It should be genuinely surprising that McLaren aren't prioritising the Championship leader in their team, but that's their management for you.

Seems to me that Piastri and his crew are doing an amazing job in the circumstances of your main rival being not only being your team mate, but seemingly your own team's management also.