Lando Norris leads the 2025 Formula 1 drivers’ championship standings after the first two Grands Prix as the McLaren racer eyes his first title in the pinnacle of motorsport.
Victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix saw Norris lead the F1 championship for the first time in his career. It also ended the stranglehold that Red Bull’s four-time defending champion Max Verstappen had held having led the standings for 1,029 days since May 2022.
Norris won the Australian GP from pole position after weathering the danger of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in mixed conditions and Verstappen’s late charge. The 24-year-old’s P2 finish in the Chinese Grand Prix behind Piastri took his championship lead to eight points.
Lando Norris thinks only Ferrari can match McLaren’s ‘huge advantage’ with two strong drivers
McLaren winning each of the opening two Grands Prix has justified the expectations placed upon the Woking outfit ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season to be the team to beat. Piastri won the Chinese GP from his first F1 pole, while Norris ran an easy P2 until his brakes issue.
Last year yielded McLaren’s first constructors’ title since 1998 and this term might see them win their first drivers’ title since Lewis Hamilton in 2008. Norris even thinks McLaren have a ‘huge advantage’ in their title bids by having two drivers who push each other to their limits.
READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge
Ferrari are the only team Norris feels boast a similar benefit to McLaren’s thanks to Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Mercedes have George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli, while Red Bull have changed their line-up with Yuki Tsunoda replacing Liam Lawson as of the Japanese GP.
Norris noted, via quotes by Motorsport.com: “There’s probably no other team, apart from Ferrari, that has two drivers who push each other like that. That’s a huge advantage for us.
“If you have a team with two drivers who can push each other, they will always beat anyone who is just driving on their own – even if everyone has the same car.
“So, we have a great car and a fantastic team. But we also have two drivers who push each other more than any other team. And that will always win – even against the best driver.”
Lando Norris’ comments hint he still thinks Max Verstappen is a better driver
The goal for both Norris and Piastri is now to win their first F1 drivers’ championship title in 2025. But team principal Andrea Stella has already made it clear that the priority in Woking is not the drivers’ with McLaren adamant retaining their constructors’ title is the top target.
Norris’ last remark about racing ‘against the best driver’ also hints he still thinks Verstappen is a stronger racer than himself. The McLaren star was often quick to laud the Red Bull racer during their title fight last year, with Norris describing Verstappen as ‘the best in the world’.
Verstappen may need to live up to Norris’ praise to become only the second driver yet after Michael Schumacher to win five F1 drivers’ titles in a row this year, however. The Dutchman rued his car’s inconsistent balance in China and Red Bull do not know how to fix their RB21.
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