McLaren insiders were right about Lando Norris’ ‘ceiling’ all along as Oscar Piastri surpasses him

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Lando Norris has now started 137 Formula 1 races. That ranks him just outside the all-time top 50.

The McLaren driver is still getting better. For instance, Natalie Pinkham says Norris is more level-headed based on a recent interview.

Even Fernando Alonso, the most experienced F1 driver ever with over 400 starts to his name, would say he’s still learning. But naturally, as careers go on, the progression curve flattens out.

There’s no guarantee that this is the best version of Norris, but it’s probably not far away. He’s a six-time Grand Prix winner with 11 poles and 34 podiums, now chasing his first world championship.

It looks set to be an intra-McLaren battle this year. Teammate Oscar Piastri leads the way by 10 points, with Max Verstappen falling 49 adrift after his Spanish Grand Prix meltdown.

McLaren insiders suspected that Oscar Piastri had a higher peak than Lando Norris

Last year, Norris more or less had Piastri covered. The gap at the end of the year was 82 points in the Briton’s favour.

The disparity was most pronounced in qualifying, where Norris won the head-to-head 21-3. The gap was rarely large, but one driver won out almost every time.

In this context, it was surprising to read that McLaren insiders thought Piastri had a higher ceiling. This was according to Will Buxton, who had spoken to team members last autumn.

A feeling was ‘starting to form’ that Piastri was ‘the better of the two’. While he produced some sublime performances in 2024, most notably his victory at the Azerbaijan GP, he still appeared a level below Norris.

But Piastri was further down the aforementioned progressive curve, and he made a mighty leap over the winter. He has five wins this year to Norris’ two, and double the pole positions (four vs two).

With the Australian firmly in control of the F1 title race, it looks as if McLaren were right all along.

Lando Norris has hinted at the reason Oscar Piastri may win the 2025 title

Piastri is arguably F1’s most improved driver this year. Even the McLaren staff who tipped him to surpass Norris may be surprised.

McLaren identified qualifying as Piastri’s main weakness last year, unsurprisingly given his score against Norris, and it now looks like a foundational strength.

Norris believes he’s the best driver on the grid, but he admits that he finds it hard to unlock his top form consistently. And that could be the weakness that costs him.

McLaren’s supreme car is good enough to mask some of its drivers’ flaws. But Norris has made qualifying errors in China (the Sprint), Bahrain and Saudi Arabia that have dumped him out of victory contention, while Piastri has hardly put a wheel wrong since his heartbreaking spin in Melbourne.