Lando Norris Hit With F1 Title Race "Luck" Claim

McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are separated by just nine points with 10 races to go but should the gap be bigger?

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris return from Formula 1's summer break to re-engage in the battle for the drivers' title at this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix.

Australian Piastri is nine points better off than his teammate with 10 of the 24 race calendar remaining despite Norris being favored pre-season.

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer, who is now a pundit for F1TV, has taken a look at the first 14 races and come up with a startling conclusion.

The gap could be bigger

Jun 14, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; McLaren driver Oscar Piastri (81) discusses with members of his team during FP3 practice at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images | David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, former Renault driver Palmer revealed he had used the summer break to delve through data to try and find the patterns that are defining the intra-team title fight.

"What I've been thinking is Piastri's been the better driver. And we're talking about the fine margins: nine points, Lando winning three of the last four.

"But on pretty much all stats and viewing, Piastri has been the better driver so far. And I looked through and I think that championship lead is nine points - could easily be 61 points but for largely a bit of luck."

To make his point, Palmer picked out instances where Norris was the benefactor of fortune across the season so far.

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— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 26, 2025

First there was the season-opener in Australia where both drivers ran wide in tricky conditions late in the race but while Norris was able to keep the car straight upon returning to the track, Piastri rotated and ended up losing 16 points straight off the bat.

Piastri was then dominant in Silverstone before a penalty that Palmer described as a "tough decision" for slowing too abruptly behind the safety car, which allowed Norris to pick up the win. That's another 14-point swing.

The timing of safety cars helped Norris in the Miami Grand Prix sprint and at Imola when Piastri was ahead, while a poor start in Hungary allowed the Briton to pivot to what turned out to be a race-winning strategy.

"When you look at all those points lost, there's been a lot of things that have just gone towards Lando in these first 14 races," added Palmer.

How the head-to-head looks

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battle for the lead at the 2025 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. | McLaren Racing

Piastri leads the qualifying head-to-head battle over Norris having out-qualified his teammate on eight occasions out of 14, while he is three-zero up in sprint qualifyings so far. Piastri has four pole positions to Norris' five, however.

In races, Piastri has six race wins to Norris' five while both have been on the podium 12 times. Interestingly, both drivers are equal on seven apiece when it comes to outracing the other.

Norris is the only McLaren driver to retire from a race this year having collided with Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix, though he was classified given how late in the race the incident was.

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