Emerson Fittipaldi explains why Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri face ‘double the pressure’ of Max Verstappen

McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have pulled away from defending champion Max Verstappen as they look to grab the Woking outfit’s first drivers’ title since 2008 in 2025.

McLaren have a clear advantage over the rest of the field this season, evidenced by the fact that the FIA’s flexi-wing technical directive had little effect on the pecking order, despite Red Bull and Ferrari’s hopes that it would.

The Woking outfit were the only team not to change their front wing at the Spanish GP, with Piastri claiming his fifth win of the season and Norris coming home second. Verstappen made a critical mistake in his bid for a fifth title as he was penalised for a collision with George Russell.

Demoted from P5 to P10, the Red Bull driver is now 49 points behind Piastri, giving him the difficult task of reclaiming the championship lead with an inferior car. The team are fully focused on Verstappen winning the drivers’ title, with Yuki Tsunoda set to cost Red Bull £118m by losing the constructors’ title.

While Verstappen is not out of the title race just yet, it does look likely that one of the McLaren drivers will be the champion in 2025. Piastri and Norris may have the fastest package, but Emerson Fittipaldi believes the pair have ‘double the pressure’ than what Verstappen faces.

Emerson Fittipaldi says Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri face pressure of winning the title and from each other

McLaren ended a 26-year winless streak to claim their first constructors’ title since 1998 last season. Lewis Hamilton was the last driver to win the drivers’ title for the team, putting enough pressure on Norris and Piastri as it is to end that drought.

But which of the two that wins the title is anyone’s guess at this stage. Piastri and Norris have been given the freedom to fight, with Zak Brown looking to avoid team orders in 2025.

With 10 points between them, Fittipaldi says the McLaren duo have the pressure of winning the championship, as well as from each other. The Brazilian sees them as having ‘open opportunities’ to fight for the title.

“It’s great to see McLaren back again on top,” said Fittipaldi via Beyond The Grid.

“They have the pressure for the championship campaign and they have the extra pressure of teammates. It’s double the pressure. Not just trying to win the championship, but the competition on both.

“You know, at one point, I don’t know when it’s going to happen. Someone’s going to have more points in the championship. And I don’t know what Zak Brown, Andrea, is going to do [about] it. You know, I like to live open situation because that’s racing.

“I think so. They have now open opportunities. I don’t know, you know, depends how lucky each one is going to be to get more points than the other and how close the third guy is going to be to the championship. If it’s not close, it will be a fight between both to the end of the championship.

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

Do McLaren need to implement team orders at some point in 2025?

McLaren might make it ‘difficult’ for themselves if Norris and Piastri take points off each other. Verstappen has been ‘urged’ to let that happen, as it could hand him the chance to grab a fifth title.

It then begs the question whether the Woking outfit should deploy team orders with their drivers. Guenther Steiner thinks McLaren should let Norris and Piastri fight until the end of the season and take it down to the wire.

But Mika Hakkinen says McLaren must support one driver when it comes to the end of the season. Given his form so far in 2025, Piastri could be favoured if he can maintain his advantage over Norris.

Norris thinks inconsistency is his biggest problem, with mistakes in qualifying proving costly for the Brit this season. Results have picked up in recent races, but Piastri will take some beating in 2025.