Lando Norris took a dominant victory to end the season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which led McLaren to the Constructors’ Championship.
The British driver took a superb win from pole position and avoided carnage behind him as Max Verstappen clattered into Oscar Piastri at Turn 1.
Norris put together his most complete performance of this season, and there were no small errors like the bad start in the Netherlands and near misses with the wall in Singapore.
He kept calm under pressure from Carlos Sainz, knowing relinquishing the lead to the Spaniard may have cost them the championship.
The McLaren driver performed superbly, and former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle feels Norris can win the championship next year.
Despite Norris getting praise, Gian Carlo Minardi explained why Norris needs to prepare well for 2025, and he has a lot of competition on the grid.
Lando Norris shouldn’t ‘sleep soundly’ because of Oscar Piastri’s good performances
Norris performed admirably at times this season but struggled at some events, such as the Italian Grand Prix, where he wasn’t decisive enough in combat and lost the lead to Piastri.
Norris had more raw speed than his teammate, but the Australian was much calmer. This was clear, particularly in Azerbaijan, where he made no mistakes in the lead.
He was also very competitive after the summer break but suffered over a race distance, which cost him time on the fragile Pirelli tyres.
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Minardi explained that Piastri could keep McLaren at the front of the field but made an error early in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, crashing into Franco Colapinto.
He told Motorsport Italia: “He made a very serious mistake in hitting Colapinto, but despite this, he didn’t give up and took home a point. That could have been very important in the end. I’m still convinced that he will be one of the drivers of the future, and he will be one of the drivers that will make McLaren emerge in the future.
“So, if I were Norris, I wouldn’t sleep soundly because, in my opinion, from the little I can understand and see, he’s (Piastri) a driver who will be addressed a ‘lei’ going forward, so I await him with great interest going forward into 2025.”
The 2016 Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg feels Piastri is the more complete McLaren driver and he’s a little bit more reliable behind the wheel.
McLaren may be under pressure to maintain a healthy relationship between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri
McLaren have the problem of having two very competitive, equal drivers as well as a car that can consistently fight at the front.
This could cause issues within the team next season if there is a Drivers’ Championship up for grabs. The two drivers may be less compliant with team orders as the drivers’ title is more important to them than the constructor’s title.
If McLaren have a competitive car throughout 2025, they may need to pick one driver to prioritise for the title, especially if Ferrari and Red Bull are strong.
The pair of Norris and Piastri have been driving well together and co-existing but that could change if there’s a championship on the line.
