Guenther Steiner tells Lando Norris who his biggest enemy in 2025 will be – and it’s not Max Verstappen

McLaren will be delighted to have finally ended their long run without a Constructors’ Championship after a very impressive 2024 campaign.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were two of Formula 1’s most consistent drivers this year, but couldn’t get close enough to topple Max Verstappen at the top of the Drivers’ Championship.

Once the Dutchman had won his fourth title in Las Vegas, McLaren’s focus was on maintaining their lead over Ferrari in the team standings.

They had a 21-point lead over the Scuderia heading into the race of the year and front-row lockout from Norris and Piastri gave Andrea Stella’s team the best possible chance to win the title.

However, Norris had to deliver under pressure when Piastri was taken out by Verstappen going into the first corner.

That level of composure from Norris to win the fourth race of his career will give him plenty of confidence going into 2025.

Zak Brown thinks Norris needs to learn from Lewis Hamilton to become a world champion, but it may not be Verstappen who poses the biggest threat to him winning his first championship.

Guenther Steiner tells Lando Norris that Oscar Piastri could be his ‘biggest enemy’ in 2025

Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner was talking about Norris.

Talking about what he needs to do to potentially become a world champion, he said: “I hope Lando learned a lot about it [winning the championship], but can he next year when getting into it say, get his elbows out because he still has to prove it.

“He’s said it, but he hasn’t done it, you know? And to do it, what you need to do, you will have some friction with somebody.

“Can he do it or not? Does he even want to do that?

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

“We need to see where this goes, but what is for sure? That Oscar Piastri in the same car will not be sitting there waiting for Lando to win a world championship.

“Oscar is fast as well as he showed this year. So, I don’t think that McLaren or I’m pretty sure McLaren hasn’t got a number one and number two driver or team orders at the beginning of the year.

“They could come in the middle of the year if one is leading and they need to fight for it.

“But I’m pretty sure that Oscar Piastri wants to be that guy as well.

“So the first half of the season, his biggest enemy will be his own teammate, which you cannot push off the track, but you need to beat him.”

Oscar Piastri unlikely to settle for number two driver role at McLaren in 2025

Piastri has had a fantastic season and will be glad he’s got his first two Grand Prix victories under his belt already.

Although the way McLaren managed his first win in Hungary wasn’t ideal, he showed his credentials by holding off Charles Leclerc for much of the race in Baku.

Piastri had to adhere to McLaren’s papaya rules halfway through the season when it looked like Norris had a chance to catch Verstappen.

That didn’t stop the Australian from putting in a bold move on Norris on the opening lap in Monza where both drivers eventually ended up losing out to Leclerc and highlighted Piasitr’s underlying pace.

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

McLaren are unlikely to be able to ask Piastri to make those sacrifices again in 2025.

He’ll be hoping to establish an early advantage over Norris so that he can be the driver McLaren favour in a championship battle if it comes to that.