
Lando Norris reckons he and will be able to fight for glory while remaining on each other's Christmas card lists. But – and decades of F1 history proves it.
Whenever both drivers in the same team have the chance of personal glory, it always gets tense. We just haven't had any recent examples. are top dogs now but have been the most recent kings of F1, except no-one is allowed to challenge supremacy there.
Before the Dutchman dominated the grid, it was at the top of the pile and, though is a fine driver, he wasn't ever in the same league as . So the most recent example of a closer fight was Hamilton against , and look how that turned out. They had been friends since childhood but the prize of becoming World champion was enough to destroy that relationship.
Before that, and were taking chunks out of each other at Red Bull and, back in 2007, a rookie Hamilton feuding with almost tore McLaren apart. And that's just the last 20 years or so. I'd list off a lot more examples but this column isn't nearly long enough for that.
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Up to now, Norris and Piastri have had a common enemy to work together against in Verstappen. But the Dutchman's challenge is now fading and both will soon realise that the only thing in the way of their first career F1 title is their team-mate.
Just 10 points separate them heading into Sunday's and, if it stays this close for the next couple of months, it's hard to imagine any other outcome than an increasingly bitter and brilliant duel to the end. It's a team sport to a point but, when McLaren make sure of the teams' title, personal ambition will inevitably take over.
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British former F1 driver is one of the stewards on duty in Montreal this weekend. In the same week he said Lewis Hamilton "deserves an eighth title" and that people are "probably right" to suggest Max Verstappen should have been banned for ramming in Barcelona two weeks ago.
With F1 fandom more tribal than ever and accusations of bias increasingly common, how can a serving steward be allowed to share such opinions in public? There'll be uproar after his comments.
From the archive
took his first and only F1 win at the 2008 Canadian GP and would probably have scored many more had he not suffered 42 broken bones and lost three-quarters of his blood in a 2011 rally crash which scuppered a move to .
Fast factThe Montreal Circuit's final corner has been known as the 'Wall of Champions' since the 1999 race in which three of the four previous champions – Damon Hill, and Jacques Villeneuve – crashed there.
Inside trackIsack Hadjar said this week he's not yet ready for the top Red Bull team but, with the latest to flounder next to Max Verstappen, the Frenchman is next in line for a promotion.
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