Lando Norris’ 2025 title chances given surprising take by F1 paddock insiders

Journalist Nate Saunders highlighted a growing trend within the paddock on ESPN’s Unlapped podcast. He mentioned that there is already a general feeling that Norris will not catch Piastri this year.

With 224 points still available from eight Grands Prix and three Sprints, Piastri’s consistency could not be enough due to McLaren’s unreliability, as seen in the Netherlands.

Norris needs to make up just under four points per weekend to close the gap. While there does not seem to be much belief within F1 circles that he will succeed, Saunders thinks that might actually play to his advantage.

“It’s quite remarkable actually. Most people in the paddock have written Norris off a little bit. Maybe he’s thriving a bit more in that environment, I don’t know.”

BBC journalist Andrew Benson recently reiterated this point on the ‘Chequered Flag’ podcast. He pointed out how consistently strong Piastri has been this season.

“Everyone has the feeling, or many, many people in Formula 1 have the feeling that it’s going to be Piastri’s year eventually, one way or another,” told Benson.

McLaren address suggestion of bias towards Oscar Piastri

It has been suggested within McLaren that Piastri might not have handed over the lead in a similar Monza situation. Both drivers have followed team instructions so far, but Andrea Stella might face more pushback as the season goes on.

McLaren will hope to avoid having to intervene again. While the Monza situation was unique, it has set an uncomfortable precedent if further pit stop issues arise.

Many fans have accused McLaren’s mechanics of favouring Piastri, but these kinds of claims often pop up when teammates are closely matched.

A mechanic from the team responded by pointing out that average pit stop times between Norris and Piastri are nearly identical across the season. Ideally, outside factors would not play a role in deciding the title, but that is rarely how things play out in motorsport.