Lando Norris has now proven ‘insiders in the paddock’ wrong over their ‘clear’ Oscar Piastri feeling

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Lando Norris is the in-form driver after the past four rounds, as he gained 13 points on Oscar Piastri in the 2025 championship since crashing out of the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Briton’s retirement in Montreal this June yielded his sole failure to score a point so far in 2025. But Norris bounced back brilliantly by winning in Austria, Great Britain and Hungary to turn a 22-point deficit to his McLaren teammate Piastri in the F1 drivers’ standings into nine.

Piastri interrupted Norris’ run of results by winning the Belgian Grand Prix in front of the 25-year-old. But the 24-year-old had to settle for second place at the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone and the Hungaroring. Piastri also edged Norris for P2 and P3 in the F1 Sprint at Spa this July.

Norris would have been the one settling for second best without Piastri’s 10s penalty in the British Grand Prix for a safety car restart infringement, though. Additionally, Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix via a one-stop strategy, as Piastri came 0.698s shy on a two-stopper.

Paddock ‘insiders’ were wrong to expect Oscar Piastri would run away with the 2025 F1 title

Three wins in the past four Grands Prix have also seen Norris dispel the belief that figures in F1’s paddock at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May held that Piastri would run away and win the title. Piastri arrived at Imola on the back of winning four of the prior five Grands Prix.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Formula Medicine founder Riccardo Ceccarelli has told Motorsport.com that many expected Piastri would win McLaren’s first drivers’ title since 2008 after his form in the first six rounds before travelling to Imola. But Norris has proven they were wrong in the seven rounds since.

Ceccarelli said: “The world of McLaren will now become very interesting, an environment worth exploring, because, perhaps, we all sang too early about Oscar Piastri’s exploits as a potential world champion. The Australian had a poor start in the final race.

“But I remember that in Imola, talking to friends and insiders in the paddock, they had the clear feeling that Oscar would gradually build a points gap over Lando Norris, because he seemed more mature and performing, making fewer mistakes.

“He seemed more relaxed and, therefore, seemed destined for an upward trend, while Norris, compared to the previous two years, seemed to be declining.

“Now that we have passed the halfway point of the season, the gap between the two McLaren drivers is slim and quiet, quiet Norris is still close.”

Lando Norris’ early-season mistakes gave the F1 paddock reason to question his title bid

Piastri had stretched his lead in the F1 drivers’ championship to 16 points before the Emilia Romagna GP. But Norris started his response at Imola and cut his deficit to just three points before Piastri hit back in Spain. Norris would lead Piastri if not for his crash in Canada, too.

READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge

Norris crashed into the rear of Piastri’s car in Canada as he misjudged a chance to overtake his McLaren teammate for P4. The 10 points that Piastri then gained on Norris in Montreal are what separate them in the standings at the summer break, given the latter’s form since.

But the F1 paddock was right to question if Norris could deny Piastri in their fight to win the title at Imola. Before the Emilia Romagna GP, Norris called himself “clueless” after qualifying P6 in Bahrain and also branded himself an “idiot” after crashing in qualifying in Saudi Arabia.

At the time, Piastri was not making those types of mistakes, with the only blot on his record being spinning in the rain during the Australian Grand Prix while P2 before recovering to P9. Piastri has also rarely made errors since, other than his controversial penalty at Silverstone.