Lando Norris enters the 2025 Formula 1 season as the early favourite to win the title, and McLaren CEO Zak Brown has already sent the Briton an ‘improvement’ message.
The 25-year-old is widely seen as the driver to beat this season after McLaren won their first constructors’ title in 26 years last season. With Formula 1’s regulations largely remaining the same ahead of the huge overhaul coming in 2026, McLaren are expected to lead once again.
F1’s 2026 engine and chassis regulations could reset the order of the grid but McLaren’s rise to the front of the field should carry over the winter. Their rise last year even saw Norris win his first Grand Prix in Miami, before unsuccessfully challenging Max Verstappen for the title.
Zak Brown has already told Lando Norris ‘there’s always room for improvement’
Norris ended the season 63 points behind Verstappen as McLaren’s competitive run came too late to overcome the advantage the Dutchman and Red Bull had built. Verstappen held a 60-point lead to Norris in fourth place after sealing five wins over the first seven Grands Prix.
McLaren and Ferrari eventually surpassed Red Bull in 2024, and Norris is the pre-season title favourite in 2025. The Bristol-born racer will now be looking to open an early advantage, like Verstappen enjoyed last year, before the FIA’s flexi-wing clampdown could impact McLaren.
READ MORE: Every error that cost Lando Norris points in his failed 2024 F1 title challenge
Changes are coming to how the FIA tests front wings from the Spanish Grand Prix. McLaren CEO Brown also hopes to see changes from Norris this term, having already urged his driver to keep improving as it would be naïve to believe the four-time Grand Prix winner is perfect.
Brown told Beyond the Grid: “I think you can always improve, whether you’re a racing driver or a CEO. The minute you think, ‘I’m not improving’, you’re not being realistic with yourself.
“He’s a world championship-calibre driver now, but I’d like to think there’s always room for improvement. If I look at when he started, he always had the speed.
“His first couple of years, he didn’t get his elbows out that much. Now, he’s a driver that if he’s behind you, he’s coming but he’s very clean but he’s very hard.”
Lando Norris must drive smarter to dethrone Max Verstappen in 2025
Norris seems to agree with Brown’s suggestion that the McLaren driver still has areas where he can improve if the Briton is to win his first Formula 1 title. Having failed to dethrone four-time reigning champion Verstappen, Norris feels he did not do a ‘good enough’ job in 2024.
| 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 |
But while he and Brown admit the nine-time pole-sitter can improve, Oscar Piastri is worried McLaren boasting two race-winning drivers may help Verstappen. The Australian and Norris are likely to take points off each other, whereas Red Bull have a clear No2 with Liam Lawson.
If Piastri’s concerns ring true, Norris will have to drive smarter and deliver the same levels of consistency Verstappen displayed in 2024 to overcome Red Bull no longer having the fastest car. The Dutchman upheld his early advantage by never finishing a Grand Prix lower than P6.
