Lando Norris
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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri helped McLaren win the constructors’ title in 2024 and 2025, marking the first time that the team retained it since with Ayrton Senna in 1991.
The Woking outfit were the class of the field in 2025, with the papaya squad ending the year with 833 points. Mercedes finished second in the 2025 standings with 469 points, while Red Bull ranked third with 451 – albeit as a one-man outfit, as Max Verstappen alone scored 421.
McLaren had not won the F1 constructors’ championship in back-to-back terms since Senna and Gerhard Berger combined to seal the 1990 and 1991 titles. Their partnership continued McLaren’s domination at the time, having also won the constructors’ title in 1988 and 1989.
Alain Prost and Senna kicked off McLaren’s dominance in the 1980s, as they also sealed the drivers’ title in 1985, 1986 and 1989 plus 1988, 1990 and 1991 respectively. Norris won the 2025 F1 drivers’ title, as he became the eighth different racer to win the title with McLaren.
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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s ‘characteristics’ show how F1 drivers have changed since Ayrton Senna’s era
Piastri also battled for the F1 drivers’ title in 2025, and he even topped the standings for 189 days only to finish third and 13 points behind Norris. Yet former Ferrari F1 driver Ivan Capelli says Piastri and Norris cannot compare themselves with McLaren icons like Prost and Senna.
READ MORE: Lando Norris’ first F1 drivers’ title in 2025 was defined by seven key moments
Sky Italy pundit Capelli feels the “characteristics” of modern F1 drivers like Piastri and Norris have changed so much from Senna and Prost’s generation. He even thinks the pair are more sterile than Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were when they were at McLaren in 2007.
Capelli told Fanpage: “McLaren have had drivers like Senna and Prost in the past, but also consider Hamilton and Alonso, who had a different temperament than Oscar and Lando, who don’t say anything out of the ordinary.
“I’d add, in fairness, that the evolution of these guys’ temperaments also needs to be considered. Previously, those with the ‘hairiest chest’ made the difference [but] now, some have more followers.
“It’s strange to compare Norris and Piastri to the risk-taking heroes of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Today, they all live in a completely different world, with different characteristics, where the noise is much more subdued.”
Lando Norris has proven there is more than one way to win the F1 drivers’ title
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Norris showed there is more than one way to win in F1 as he secured the 2025 title, as the Briton silenced the vast criticism that many voiced about his tendency to publicly question himself straight after he made a mistake and to be open about his mental health struggles.
On the other side of the McLaren garage, Piastri drew comparisons to Kimi Raikkonen for his ice-cool personality that seldom saw the Australian ruffle any feathers. Even when McLaren told Piastri to give P2 back to Norris in the Italian Grand Prix, he hid his hurt to the cameras.
Piastri voiced his disagreement over McLaren’s team radio, as he felt they had agreed that a slower pit stop would never lead to team orders. Yet Piastri played ball, as McLaren had told Norris that he would not get undercut, which ultimately then caused his season to crumble.
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