McLaren’s 56-Race Streak Without Teammate Collision Ends as Norris Hits Piastri in Canada
Tensions boiled over between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix, as the pair made contact for the first time since becoming teammates—an outcome that insiders suggest was only a matter of time.
Since joining forces in 2023, Norris had held a noticeable performance edge over the Australian. But as Piastri’s development accelerated, the internal balance shifted. The competition between them is no longer just about podiums or fastest laps—it’s now about the championship. With the stakes at an all-time high, McLaren had long anticipated that friction would surface. That moment came on lap 67 in Montreal, when Norris attempted a bold, ill-judged move on the main straight, squeezing into a gap that didn’t exist.
The attempt resulted in Lando Norris hitting the pit wall and damaging his car beyond repair. While the stewards handed him a five-second penalty, his race was already done. Oscar Piastri avoided significant damage and salvaged a P4 finish for the team.
Norris accepted full responsibility over the radio, and team principal Andrea Stella acted swiftly to contain any internal fallout. Yet the collision officially ended their impressive 56-race run without a single teammate incident.
Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello Still Hold the Record for Most Races Without a Collision
While McLaren’s clean streak has now ended, the benchmark for intra-team discipline remains Ferrari’s legendary duo: Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. From 2000 to 2005, they shared 104 race weekends without ever colliding—a record that still stands.
Michael Schumacher had joined Ferrari in 1996 after two World Championships with Benetton, initially racing alongside Eddie Irvine. But in 2000, Ferrari signed the Brazilian from Stewart Grand Prix to partner Michael Schumacher in what would become the sport’s most dominant era. Together, they helped Ferrari to five consecutive Constructors’ Championships, with Michael Schumacher winning all five Drivers’ titles.
Though Rubens Barrichello was initially promised equal footing, he was soon relegated to a supporting role as team orders shaped Ferrari’s race strategies. That enforced hierarchy was critical to avoiding contact between the pair. Mercedes employed a similar model during the Lewis Hamilton–Valtteri Bottas era from 2017 to 2021, where Bottas often took a secondary role to support Hamilton’s title runs.
By contrast, other famous teammate duos weren’t so fortunate. Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard collided at the 1999 Austrian Grand Prix, when David Coulthard clipped Mika Häkkinen at the start despite an eventual McLaren one-two. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber had several on-track spats, most notably a crash at the 2010 Turkish GP. The pair’s tension climaxed in 2013 when Sebastian Vettel ignored team orders to pass Mark Webber at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
Schumacher vs. Barrichello: A Rivalry That Turned Dangerous Post-Ferrari
Though Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello never crashed while teammates, their rivalry reignited later. In the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix—when the German was with Mercedes and the Brazilian drove for Williams—the seven-time Formula 1 world champion nearly forced his former teammate into the pit wall at high speed. Rubens Barrichello branded it “the most dangerous move anyone ever made on me.”
Their most infamous moment as Ferrari teammates occurred in Austria in 2002. After leading all race long, the Brazilian was instructed to let the German through on the final lap—an order he reluctantly followed just meters before the finish line. The public backlash was immense.
Ferrari received a £800,000 fine for issuing team orders, which were illegal at the time under FIA regulations.
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