Oscar Piastri is doing one thing Lando Norris won’t even think about at McLaren in 2025

McLaren are in a strong position to win both championships in the 2025 Formula 1 season. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are battling it out for the drivers’ title with Max Verstappen.

Piastri leads the standings by 13 points over his teammate heading into the Monaco Grand Prix, with Verstappen nine points further behind. The Aussie has four wins to Norris’ one as he has found another gear in 2025.

Norris had the upper hand at McLaren last season, but his teammate has now found more efficiency, particularly on Saturdays. Lewis Hamilton says Piastri has delivered in qualifying compared to Norris this year, as mistakes have hampered the Brit.

The 25-year-old has qualified on the front row of the grid once in the last four races. Norris is making mistakes that McLaren ‘haven’t seen’ before, according to Jolyon Palmer, with Norris saying it is ‘not good enough’ to struggle in Q3 without knowing why.

Piastri hinted he is making life difficult for Norris in qualifying as he can extract the maximum out of the MCL39 to challenge Verstappen. The Aussie is in a great position to become world champion in 2025 – and he knows it.

Oscar Piastri admits he is thinking about the 2025 F1 title with McLaren

Piastri gave a perfect response to how he will race Verstappen this season, having learned from 2024 how to battle with the Red Bull driver on track. The 24-year-old is looking to dethrone the four-time champion and stay ahead of his McLaren teammate.

The Aussie came into 2025 as one of the favourites to win the title, given McLaren’s pace advantage over the field at the end of 2024. In an interview with BBC Sport, Piastri admitted he was thinking about winning the title before the season started.

Asked whether he is thinking about the title, he replied: “A bit, yes,” he says. “But I’ve also thought about it before this year as well.

“It’s very easy to kind of just go: ‘Yeah, that’s the situation I’m in’, but what I’ve been doing in the past 10 years, especially the past two years, has all been building to try and prepare for when I’m in this situation.

“And it’s very easy for me to just go: ‘Well, if I execute this practice session, execute this qualifying session, execute this race, naturally my championship’s going to start to look pretty rosy.’

“It’s obviously still very early in the year, and once you get later in the season, the pressure ramps up.

“Potentially some of the decisions you make on the track start to change a bit. But for now, it’s just about trying to score the most points I can and go out there and try and win every race.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Lando Norris says the 2025 F1 title is ‘never my first thought’

Piastri’s teammate Norris gave a very different answer. The Brit was arguably tipped as the favourite for the title, having come close to rivalling Verstappen in 2024.

Pressure has been mounting on the 25-year-old throughout the season, with Norris admitting that he also put too much pressure on himself. Therefore, it is no surprise to hear that he is not thinking about his title chances.

He told ESPN before the Monaco GP: “I honestly don’t think of it until people bring it up. It’s not a bad thing, you know, because it’s nice to be reminded of it sometimes.

“It’s just never my first thought, it’s never a thought that I bring with me to approach a weekend, you know? And it’s a positive thing, it’s a good thing knowing that that’s what everyone expects, and that’s the case for me.

“When you kind of get reminded or you think about these things, it’s a good boost, because you’re like, ‘Well, this is an opportunity for me to be a world champion,’ and that’s something that not many people ever get to say.

“So, it’s nice to be reminded of those things, but it’s not a thought that I carry with myself.”