Lando Norris faces a 10-point deficit to his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, in the 2025 Formula 1 drivers’ championship ahead of this Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old and his 24-year-old teammate are bidding to become F1 champions for the first time in their respective careers. Norris contested his first title fight in 2024, but finished the term 63 points shy of Max Verstappen, while Piastri is a title contender for the first time.
Norris even kicked off the 2025 F1 season by knocking Verstappen off first place for the first time in 1,029 days. Yet his time atop the F1 drivers’ championship lasted just 35 days before Piastri eclipsed the Briton and put an Australian in the top spot for the first time in 15 years.
Martin Brundle would rate Lando Norris as the ‘clear’ 2025 F1 title favourite if he were consistent
Norris was the 2025 pre-season F1 title favourite as many expected the Bristol native would have learnt from his battles with Red Bull rival Verstappen last year. Yet Martin Brundle now thinks the McLaren man’s lack of consistency means Norris is no longer the ‘clear’ favourite.
Brundle was blown away by Norris’ Australian Grand Prix from pole position and by his drive from pole to glory in the Monaco Grand Prix. But the Briton could not back either of his two wins this term up with another win, after then finishing second to Piastri in China and Spain.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
186 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
176 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
137 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
111 |
If Norris had the consistency that his teammate has shown, Brundle would still see the six-time Grand Prix winner as the 2025 title favourite. Instead, seven-win Piastri leads the way ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, where he will hope to take a ninth consecutive podium.
Brundle said on Sky Sports F1 (13/06, 18:04): “I think Lando has put in some extraordinary drives. His victories in Australia and Monaco [were] top, top draw. Any driver in the history of this sport would like those on his CV. But Lando can’t seem to do that every weekend.
“If he could, he would be the clear championship favourite. So, I think that’s consistency, getting his A-game there all day, every day [and] every Grand Prix weekend. But I still feel like Lando is happier and got more trust [and] more faith in himself and his car, though.”
Oscar Piastri overturned Lando Norris’ 23-point lead by rarely making any big mistakes
Norris opened a 23-point lead over Piastri at the Australian GP after his McLaren teammate spun while chasing the Briton for the lead on home soil, before the Melbourne native came back to finish in P9. Yet Norris has only beaten Piastri in three of the eight Grands Prix since.
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Piastri has also finished on every podium since one of his very few mistakes in 2025 so far at Albert Park. His teammate, on the other hand, did not finish on the podium in Jeddah after Norris crashed in qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix trying to match Piastri’s speed.
The only other mistake the Australian has really made so far this season came at the start of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Verstappen caught Piastri napping at Imola to overtake him for the lead of the race at the Tamburello chicane, which also ultimately led to him winning.
