Red Bull Contentpool
General
Is Norris good enough to beat Verstappen, Piastri and Ferrari in '25?
- Ludo van Denderen
Lando Norris is bound to have woken up over the winter months bathed in sweat, realising that he has missed out on a prime opportunity to become a Formula 1 world champion in 2024. Indeed, the McLaren Briton may never get another chance to take the title, particularly if the challenge is greater in 2025 than it was a year ago.
Great joy in the pit box and McLaren's hospitality as fireworks blazed into the sky in Abu Dhabi. For the first time in this century, the British team clinched a Formula 1 championship. Everyone was happy, including Lando Norris. And yes, the constructors' title determines the amount of prize money. But the championship that every driver - including Norris - really cares about is the one that's awarded to the best driver.
Great competition for Norris
That prize, as is well known, went to Max Verstappen, who, despite driving an often inferior car to the McLaren, ended up being the best by far. Needless to say, Norris is then looking to strike in 2025, but it looks like the competition is going to be bigger than ever.
Of course, there is Verstappen again to reckon with, but also Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton of the revived Ferrari. And what about Oscar Piastri, who has an extra year of experience and is looking to step out of Norris' shadow at McLaren. Piastri has been seen as a future world champion for years, more so than Norris. In his third year in the sport, the moment may be there for Piastri internally to decide the duel in his favour.
Norris made too many mistakes
Lando Norris' past year certainly had its highlights, but it also had its share of misses. Too often the Brit made mistakes, costing him precious points in hindsight. That is not a bad thing when you are a rookie driver in F1, because then you are still in a learning process.
But Norris has now put in seven seasons in the sport and still there were too many mistakes. In season eight, will he finally manage to be consistent and exploit his car's potential on a weekly basis - exactly as Verstappen did in '24?
After all, there are some drivers who are really good on their good days, but who can just as often fail completely on days when not everything goes their way. Lando Norris could turn out to be just such a driver: Good for a Grand Prix win here and there, but not the man to perform at the top of his game for 24 weekends.
And as mentioned, precisely in a year when much is expected of Leclerc - who captured the most points after the summer break in 2024 - and a revived Hamilton, with, on top of that, a stronger Piastri and Verstappen who no one should ever discount, it may just be that an opportunity like last year's is not going to present itself again for Norris.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels too!