Lando Norris won the 2025 F1 season-opener in Australia to claim a 23-point lead over Oscar Piastri, who now sits 16 clear ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.
The European leg of the 2025 F1 season starts this weekend at Imola, with Piastri also trying to match a slice of McLaren history in the Emilia Romagna GP. Taking the victory in Sunday’s race would be Piastri’s fourth Grand Prix win in a row and match Ayrton Senna’s run in 1991.
Only Senna has ever won four-straight Grands Prix for McLaren to date, with Norris also still yet to ever win back-to-back Formula 1 races in the same season. The Briton has also largely had to settle for second-best since Norris won the Australian Grand Prix from pole position.
Toto Wolff now sees Oscar Piastri as the equal 2025 F1 title favourite after backing Lando Norris
Norris started the 2025 F1 season widely regarded as the title favourite after the 25-year-old came second to Red Bull racer Max Verstappen last term. He continued to keep Piastri in the Briton’s shadows at McLaren, but the Australian is now firmly holding the spotlight this year.
Piastri won the Chinese Grand Prix from his first F1 pole, while also securing wins in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Miami through the first six rounds. His form has allowed the 24-year-old to flip his 23-point gap after recovering from spinning in the Australian GP into a 16-point lead.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Oscar Piastri |
131 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
115 |
| 3 |
Max Verstappen |
99 |
| 4 |
George Russell |
93 |
| 5 |
Charles Leclerc |
53 |
| 6 |
Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
48 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
41 |
Now, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff even thinks Piastri and Norris are equal favourites to win the F1 drivers’ championship in 2025. The Austrian’s opinion about the McLaren stars has changed since the campaign started, as he expected Norris would eclipse Piastri again.
Wolff has told OE24: “Before the season, I would have preferred Norris with his experience and speed. But I still see them both as equal and favourites for the world championship.”
Lando Norris dominated Oscar Piastri in 2024 but is on the losing end so far in 2025
Norris emerged as an F1 title contender for the first time in the Briton’s career last year after McLaren’s updates at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix saw the Bristol-born racer take his first win in the pinnacle of motorsport. But the advantage that Verstappen already held was decisive.
READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge
| Category | Lando Norris | Oscar Piastri |
| 2024 points | 374 | 292 |
| Grand Prix results | 16 | 8 |
| Grand Prix qualifying | 20 | 4 |
| Grand Prix wins | 4 | 2 |
| Grand Prix poles | 8 | 0 |
| Grand Prix podiums | 13 | 8 |
| Best finish | 1st | 1st |
| Retirements | 1 | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 6 | 1 |
| Grand Prix points finishes | 23 | 23 |
| Sprint results | 3 | 3 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 4 | 2 |
| Sprint wins | 1 | 1 |
| Sprint poles | 2 | 1 |
| Sprint podiums | 4 | 3 |
Still, what the Briton showed throughout last season led many to view Norris as the 2025 F1 title favourite after dominating Piastri 16-8 for Grand Prix finishes, 20-4 in qualifying and 8-0 for pole positions. But it is Piastri who is dominating in 2025 led by his four wins to only one.
So, while Wolff thought Norris would have learned from his 2024 F1 title bid failing following an array of mistakes from the Briton and McLaren – both for how he raced especially against Verstappen and strategically – the Mercedes boss’ belief has worn with Piastri’s emergence.
