Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri split by a unique perspective from F1 pitwall

A former F1 strategist has explained why she would favour one McLaren driver over the other.

Only nine points separate F1 championship leader Oscar Piastri from his teammate Lando Norris.

McLaren are sure to retain the constructors’ championship and very likely to end the dominant era of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.

Such is McLaren’s advantage in terms of their car, the tiniest details have been deciding grands prix.

Last time out at the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, a late-notice decision for Norris to run a one-stop strategy instead of a two-stop enabled him to edge Oscar Piastri and win the race, cutting down the title deficit in the process.

Oscar Piastri given an edge over Lando Norris

Bernie Collins - who formerly worked as a strategist at Aston Martin and now shares her expertise as a Sky Sports broadcaster - was asked if she’d rather work alongside Norris or Piastri.

“They are very different characters but both are very determined,” Collins answered.

“Both of them - if they end up out of position or need to overtake a car to make progress - both of them have the ability to do it.

“That’s something you need in strategy. You want a driver who is on board with the strategy. If they need to overtake two or three cars in the last stint - can they do it? Both drivers have that ability.

“Without knowing either of them personally, probably Piastri.

“I know he’d sit down with the data, he’d listen in the meetings, with what you’re trying to say to him.

“I don’t know either of them personally. But if I had to choose? Piastri.”

The different temperaments of Norris and Piastri is a constant talking point inside the F1 paddock.

Norris, particularly last season when he fell short in the title fight against Verstappen, was sometimes downbeat and self-critical.

Piastri can often appear colder and more calculating, and an frustrated outburst at a penalty at the F1 British Grand Prix was somewhat out of character.

They remain neck-and-neck with a first F1 drivers’ title at stake.

It could yet come down to the smallest margins from within the McLaren camp.

Norris and Piastri came close to a clash in Hungary but avoided disaster.

“That was firm racing, it was fair racing at the same time. It was definitely within our principles,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella told media including Crash.net.

“We had a bit of a lock-up with Oscar but at the same time Lando left some space because he knew that Oscar would have been on the limit of braking."