Jenson Button Reveals The ‘Big Turning Point’ In The 2025 F1 Championship Battle

The 2025 Formula 1 season has been full of twists and turns in the championship battle between McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The teammates went hammer and tongs throughout the season, with Piastri showing his growth early on by claiming eight podiums in the first nine races.

Norris’ mentality and ability were called into question after a series of error-prone mistakes during that period, including a retirement while battling Piastri in Canada.

The second phase of the season has seen Norris rediscover his form, despite the setback of retiring due to car problems at Zandvoort, which gave Piastri the maximum 25 points.

Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, McLaren | McLaren Racing

Piastri’s recent run has been plagued by bad luck: a retirement in Baku, a collision with Norris in the Texas Sprint, a crash in the Brazilian Sprint, and a 10-second penalty in the main race, keeping him off the podium for two months.

The Melbourne-born driver’s decline has now given Norris a 24-point advantage heading into this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, with three race weekends remaining. This means the Briton only needs to finish second in each of the remaining races to secure his first F1 title.

Jenson Button highlights the 'big turning point' this season

The 2009 F1 champion expressed his surprise at Piastri’s decline because he got off to a strong start, and that his characteristic ‘Ice Man’ approach to racing should have played in his favor.

Now that the pendulum has swung in Norris' favor, Button credits his fellow countryman for his race win in Mexico, which acted as the catalyst for his title credentials.

“It’s funny because everyone was saying, including myself, that probably Oscar is the one who is going to deal with the pressure a little bit better, but it kind of feels like it’s turned around,” Button shared on The F1 Show.

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“I’m sure there are lots of things that we always go, well, it’s the pressure, that’s why he’s not performing. For me, the big turning point was Mexico, where Lando was able to build up a big lead, while Oscar was nowhere near him. That was tough, and how we deal with that is different.

“For me, it was having great people around me that could support and also just let me know I haven’t forgotten how to drive a racing car. But it just shows you that sport in general is such a mental game. All these drivers are super talented, have natural ability, and they work really, really hard."

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