McLaren principal Andrea Stella says they will simplify the rules of engagement between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in 2026, as the team-mates prepare for another Formula One title battle.

Norris was crowned F1 drivers' champion for the first time in 2026, holding off a late charge from Max Verstappen, as well as pressure from his own team-mate, to clinch the trophy in Abu Dhabi.

The Briton became the eighth McLaren driver to win the F1 title, after Emerson Fittipaldi (1974), James Hunt (1976), Niki Lauda (1984), Alain Prost (1985, 1986, 1989), Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991), Mika Hakkinen (1998, 1999) and Lewis Hamilton (2008).

McLaren's 13 drivers' championships are just two fewer than Ferrari's 15, which are still the most by any team.

Though the 2026 season will see large-scale regulation changes that promise to shake up the grid, Norris and Piastri are both expected to contend for the crown again.

And there will be a close eye on their head-to-head battles, after the McLaren duo were involved in several incidents last year.

They collided at both Montreal and Singapore after McLaren outlined a desire to let their two drivers race, with the latter incident prompting Piastri to complain he had been treated unfairly by his own team. 

And as we head into the 2026 season, which begins in Australia on March 8, McLaren have been busy reviewing their approach to the Norris-Piastri rivalry.

"I can certainly say that like anything that we approach at McLaren, we go through a thorough process of review, so we can see opportunities to improve," Stella said.

"And this is the same for what we call the racing principles, the way we go racing and have internal competition. We got quite a lot of feedback already last year.

"We had conversations after the season and we are having conversations pretty much as we speak now. 

"All this has led us to reaffirm fundamentally, like I said before, that the concepts of fairness, integrity, equal opportunities, sportsmanship, they are all fundamental for the team, for Lando and for Oscar. So they are reaffirmed, they are confirmed and consolidated."

Back at HQ

Pre season prep underway  pic.twitter.com/cQrMNZhF5i

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Stella did say, however, that McLaren's review had not highlighted any major mistakes in how they handled the 2025 season. 

"Any attempt we can make to make going racing together simpler, to some extent, will be welcome," he added. 

"It will be a matter of fine-tuning because once we reviewed what we had done, in most cases, we said that's exactly what we would still do again.

"But we found a few opportunities in which we could streamline the way in which we operate collectively."