Natalie Pinkham has noticed a ‘significant’ change in Lando Norris’ personality amid Oscar Piastri battle, ‘hang on’

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have pulled away from the rest of the field as the McLaren duo are set to battle it out for the 2025 championship.

Max Verstappen dealt himself a significant blow by being handed a 10-second time penalty for a collision with George Russell at the Spanish GP. The incident dropped him to 10th as McLaren secured another 1-2, putting him 49 points behind Piastri in the drivers’ standings.

The Aussie claimed his fifth win of the season as he looks to have found a new level of performance in 2025. But teammate Norris is not giving up on the title battle as he sits 10 points behind.

Both McLaren drivers have finished off the podium once this season, but Norris’ mistakes in qualifying and racecraft issues have put him slightly behind his teammate in 2025. David Coulthard says Piastri’s ‘natural talent’ is causing Norris problems as he establishes an advantage.

Piastri’s data was eye-opening for Norris when he joined the team. He has now realised he is under threat from the other side of the garage, and has looked to make changes to get the edge over the Aussie.

Known for his calm demeanour and blunt personality, Franz Tost says Piastri is ‘mentally stronger’ than Norris, with the Brit being notorious for attacking himself in interviews. But Natalie Pinkham has noticed a ‘significant’ alteration in his personality.

Natalie Pinkham taken aback by how measured Lando Norris is now in his battle with Oscar Piastri

With four poles to Norris’ two, Piastri has upped his game in qualifying, having only beaten his teammate four times on Saturday in 2024. The Brit claimed pole in Monaco, his first since the season opener in Melbourne.

The 25-year-old converted it to victory for his first win at the iconic street circuit and first victory since the start of the season. Speaking via F1 Nation, Pinkham noticed Norris was ‘much more measured’ in the media pen, which she feels is ‘significant’ in his bid to win the title.

“I’ve just noticed a slight shift from him, and it was in the pen after Monaco qualifying,” she said.

“Most drivers, when they put it on pole for Monaco, are punching the air, because barring a disaster, you can convert that into a win. He was much more measured than I’d ever known him.

“And I said: ‘Woah, woah, woah, hang on a minute, you’re not even celebrating’. He said: ‘No, no.’

“It felt as if this is a conclusion he made on his own or a conversation within the team, but not to give too much away to the media, to the fans and perhaps just be slightly more measured in his approach, and I thought it was really interesting.

“Because it felt like almost a tightening up and then he was able to go out the next day and deliver. And that’s obviously when the points came and he got his maiden Monaco Grand Prix victory, and then he celebrated.

“I don’t know, it was a subtle change, but I thought a significant one.”

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Lando Norris has more improvements to make if he wants to beat Oscar Piastri

Norris has taken a stride forward in recent races, with top two finishes in the last four races, beating Piastri in two of them. But while his change in personality will go a long way in helping his title chances, he still has more to find.

Jolyon Palmer has been astounded by Piastri in qualifying and how much he has improved over one lap. The 24-year-old secured pole in Barcelona by the largest margin of 2025 thus far, beating Norris by two tenths of a second.

Mark Webber has lauded Piastri’s mindset as he does not pay attention to what people think about him. In contrast, John Watson labelled Norris an ‘influencer’ and suggested he should focus more on F1 rather than his social media persona.

Results have picked up in recent races for the Brit and the margin is tight between the McLaren duo. Piastri currently has the advantage, but that could very quickly change, and Norris is on his way to making the necessary steps to do just that.