Lando Norris pinpoints the area where Oscar Piastri has reached ‘the highest level’ amid McLaren title duel

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The duel between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris is turning out to be a fascinating dynamic at McLaren, as the title race progresses nearly midway into the 2025 F1 season.

Norris bounced back from a DNF in Canada after hitting Piastri with a win in the Austrian Grand Prix, with the pair now separated by 15 points in the title race.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have ruled themselves out after he failed to finish the Austrian GP following a collision with Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

It now looks like it is between the two McLaren drivers for the title, but Norris believes Piastri has now reached a higher level than him, reminiscent of a one-time F1 world champion, when speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast.

Lando Norris thinks Oscar Piastri is similar to Kimi Raikkonen with one trait

Piastri is known for his deadpan delivery over team radio and responding to questions in the media, which is one of the traits that enables him to perform when under pressure.

He held up a stern defence against Norris in Canada before the pair collided, despite the Briton being quicker. Norris compared him to 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen when discussing his demeanour off the track compared to his with Tom Clarkson.

Clarkson: “I made that observation a couple of races ago in a press conference. You don’t seem to get overly happy if it goes well. You don’t get overly doubtful.”

Norris: “I don’t think I’m at the level of Oscar Piastri.”

Clarkson: “Someone does have to check. You’ve got a pulse.”

Norris: “Yeah, he looks happier when he’s like sixth sometimes than when he wins the race. Yeah, maybe that’s like the highest level of just [being relaxed], a bit like Kimi [Raikkonen] in a way. But I’m still definitely tough on myself. I definitely get down less than what I did in the past. That’s certainly been something I needed to improve on, and what I think I have improved on.”

Lando Norris told what he’s ‘missing’ in Oscar Piastri battle

Norris put in a dominant display at the Austrian GP by outclassing Piastri throughout the weekend, with quick times in practice and a qualifying performance that put him half a second clear of the field.

McLaren insiders told Norris to ‘rein it in’ during qualifying, as he put himself at risk of making a mistake while pushing flat out.

Norris has been criticised for his mistakes in the last 12 months, with many of them being attributed to his points deficit to Piastri.

Robert Doornbos believes Norris is ‘missing’ the consistency needed to overtake Piastri in the points table, and could impact him in the final races of the season.