Jolyon Palmer tells Oscar Piastri how many points he should be ahead of Lando Norris if he had ‘a bit of luck’

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Oscar Piastri heads into the second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season with a title lead to defend from his teammate Lando Norris.

The pair are currently separated by nine points in the Drivers’ Championship, after Norris managed to win three of the last four races.

It has been an impressive run from McLaren, who look like the favourites to take both titles, as other teams have struggled to match their consistency.

McLaren did a ‘very rare’ thing with Norris by giving him a driver-specific upgrade in Canada, while Piastri has suffered from misfortune in the last few races with Safety Car infringement at Silverstone and a strategy error in Hungary.

Jolyon Palmer has calculated how many points he thinks Piastri would be ahead of Norris without his misadventures when speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, and it paints a very different picture in the title battle.

Jolyon Palmer thinks Oscar Piastri would be 61 points ahead of Lando Norris

The last four races have proven that McLaren were always turning up to races with the best chance of winning, so anything other than a one-two meant they lost out on crucial points.

Based on how Piastri has been driving compared to Norris this season, Palmer thinks the Australian has lost out on more points.

“We’re talking about the fine margins, nine points, Lando winning three of the last four. But on pretty much all stats and viewing, Piastri has been the better driver so far. I looked through, and I think that championship lead that’s nine points could easily be 61 points, but largely for a bit of luck,” said Palmer.

“I’m thinking there’s 16 points lost in Melbourne. I’m thinking Silverstone. Tough decision. That I’ve not seen penalised since or before. And it cost Oscar the win. Imola, the timing of the safety car. Really tough decision. It’s just a bit of bad luck. It cost them on the time only six points in terms of a swing.

“Then you’ve got Budapest. A great win for Lando, absorbed the pressure, did what he had to do. But he did it because he had a bad start, was in the wrong position, and then sort of got into the right strategy that Oscar wasn’t given.

“So when you look at all those points lost, even the two points in the Miami sprint, where a safety car timing cost Oscar the win and gave it to Lando, there’s been a lot of things that have just gone towards Lando in these first 14 races.”

Jolyon Palmer thinks Oscar Piastri has been the better driver

Piastri has been the favourite to win the title this year, simply because he’s been more consistent than Norris in the big pressure moments. Palmer also notes that the Australian has improved one weakness that he had last year compared to the Briton.

“He’s [Piastri] been better in these first 14 races. So by better, he’s been faster. He’s qualified ahead of Lando more often than not,” said Palmer.

“It’s eight-six. He’s been further ahead when he’s qualified. When he’s been at the front, a lot of his wins have been quite comfortable.

“He’s kept Lando at arm’s length. I’m thinking China, I’m thinking Barcelona. When he does get into that position, you feel like he’s not coming under huge pressure.”

Alex Jacques believes Norris is showcasing his ‘undervalued’ ability to stay in a title hunt, which is something he showed during his days racing in F2.