Lando Norris is aiming to add his name to the list of drivers who have won Formula 1 world championships as a McLaren driver.
Last season saw McLaren finally end their 26-year wait for a constructors’ championship victory.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took full advantage of the steps forward McLaren made throughout the season to defeat Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes.
However, neither driver was ever able to put Red Bull star Max Verstappen under too much pressure at the top of the drivers’ standings.
Verstappen dominated Norris at some race weekends, including in Sao Paulo when he made up 16 places to win the Grand Prix in torrential conditions.
Norris now sits eight points clear of the Dutchman and at this very early stage is in pole position to become the latest McLaren world champion.
Ayrton Senna is the joint-most successful McLaren driver in the sport’s history, and while he would love to emulate his achievements, it’s not clear whether he’ll ever be capable of doing so in the same style.
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Lando Norris ‘would never’ use Ayrton Senna tactic of pushing F1 rival off the road
Legendary F1 commentator James Allen was speaking on the Pitlane Life Lessons Podcast about Norris.
Talking about his current approach to winning his first F1 title, Allen said: “Back to Lando, there’s a brilliant line in the Senna documentary where Senna says, ‘It had to be my way, today, it had to be my way.’
“If you watch that documentary back, he’s talking about, he uses it a couple of times, but particularly when he drove [Alain] Prost off the road in 1990 in Suzuka, it has to be my way.
“No more of this nonsense and I think Lando would never drive somebody off the road like Senna did with Prost like that in Suzuka, but I hope he wouldn’t anyway.
“But he needs to dial up that, ‘It has to be my way’ a lot more because in the other car is a guy who I’ll be disappointed if Piastri isn’t a multiple world champion because I watched him very closely on the way up through the ranks.
“His F3 season was brilliant. His F2 season was brilliant. Winning on both as a rookie is really hard to do.
“And I want to see him fulfill that potential. I was a bit surprised he was a bit more inconsistent last year than I expected him to be.
“So for him, it’s all about consistency in 2025. And for Norris, it’s about it has to be my way.”
READ MORE: All to know about Ayrton Senna including Alain Prost rivalry and Imola crash
Lando Norris warned about how Oscar Piastri would ‘destroy’ his title ambitions
The scenario in question that Allen was talking about relates to Senna and Alain Prost having two infamous battles at Suzuka that led to both drivers winning a championship.
The Brazilian was disqualified in 1989, handing Prost the title, before the pair collided on the opening lap of the race the following year, giving Senna an unassailable lead.
Norris would have known going into the start of the 2025 campaign, knowing that it’s potentially going to be his best chance to win a title.
| DRIVER | YEAR |
| Emerson Fittipaldi | 1974 |
| James Hunt | 1976 |
| Niki Lauda | 1984 |
| Alain Prost | 1985, 1986, 1989 |
| Ayrton Senna | 1988, 1990, 1991 |
| Mika Hakkinen | 1998, 1999 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 2008 |
Before the campaign started, Norris was coy about his championship ambitions, but his victory in Australia proved he has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with Verstappen.
However, Juan Pablo Montoya thinks Piastri can destroy Norris this season and go on to win the title himself.
McLaren have to be careful that their drivers don’t end up ruining each other’s seasons and allowing Verstappen or another driver to pick up the pieces.
