Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are two of the favourites to fight for the Formula 1 title in 2025 after teasing an epic battle last season.
Verstappen coasted to a fourth consecutive drivers’ championship by 63 points but it would have been far closer if not for a clear advantage in the early rounds.
That won’t be the case this season, and instead Red Bull have been slated to start behind McLaren. They’re going to face some adversity.
Norris has some experience in a title battle now and it should be handy in what is the final campaign before major technical changes with the 2026 F1 regulations.
Pre-season testing was hard to draw conclusions from, but Guenther Steiner thinks 2025 will be ‘very difficult’ for Verstappen.
The team completed the least amount of laps and Liam Lawson was caught out by a gust of wind, which his RB21 failed to handle smoothly.
READ MORE: Lando Norris fired back at Juan Pablo Montoya with ‘don’t care’ statement about Max Verstappen
Lando Norris needs to stop ‘giving in’ to Max Verstappen in F1 battles
Norris has promised to dethrone Verstappen after they clashed multiple times on track in 2024, most notably at the Austrian Grand Prix while battling for the lead.
With the gap between the top four closing, the Formula 1 grid is expected to be closer than ever this season. They may not come across each other all that much.
Ex-Haas boss Steiner has told Norris what he must do when he comes across the Dutchman on track again.
“We need to see how much he learned last year. I think he made a comment, I need to get my eblows out, that’s what I said last year.
“He needs to get his elbows out, he needs to start to fight. Not just giving in to Max because Max is known to be a hard fighter.”
READ MORE: McLaren’s 2025 ‘mantra’ for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri is music to Max Verstappen’s ears
What ‘everybody in the paddock’ is saying about McLaren after F1 testing in Bahrain
Despite hiding their short-run pace in Bahrain, most teams and sources within the paddock could tell where McLaren’s pace lied.
Almost every other top team sent their drivers on the track with a light fuel load at some stage to set a fast time.
The Woking-based outfit focused on making setup gains in race trim. ‘Everybody in the paddock’ thinks McLaren are fastest.
In just one week, fans will find out for sure who is set to lead the way in 2025 after the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
It’s a home race for Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri, which may fire him up and offer even more competition to last year’s runner-up.
Leave feedback about this