Lando Norris says McLaren Are the Only Team with "Two Good Drivers"

McLaren driver Lando Norris believes the team is the only one with “two good drivers at the minute."

So far, McLaren has had the fastest car on the grid, though only just, with the top of the order being separated by small margins.

The car appears to be the strongest in race trim and can also maintain its speed over a lap. The tire wear on the car is likely its biggest advantage, as it allows the car to sustain pace effectively.

Despite how strong the car is, Norris argues that the pairing of himself and Oscar Piastri is the true difference-maker.

Representing the Suzuka lids 🤩🎌#McLaren | #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/bOHXbclRFo
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 3, 2025

“People love to be saying that [but it’s] because we literally are the only team that has two good drivers at the minute. That's the big difference," Norris said.

“If one of us was doing a lot worse, or one of us was not as strong, we would be...the [Shanghai] sprint Oscar was, what second or third, and I was already eighth, but you'd have that a lot more often, like you do with Ferrari, or like you do with Red Bull."

Lando and Oscar have accumulated the most points together, totaling 78, while second place Mercedes has 57 points to its name.

Of the top four teams, none has a pair of drivers who have been together longer than at McLaren, where they are entering their third year together.

“So I think just the fact we have two good drivers is honestly making the biggest difference, because in certain cases I don’t think we necessarily had the quickest one where there was a sprint last weekend in the qualifying or the race, but the fact that we have just two good drivers pushing each other makes just a bigger difference than people expect and take acknowledgement for," Norris added.

“So, do I agree we have the best car? Yes, and it's nice to say that we know. I have not had that before in Formula 1."

“That's the game, you try and get every advantage possible and McLaren have done a very good job to beat the rest and make it better than everyone else so we’ll take the advantage while we can, but the others are certainly not that far behind.”

Norris provided more insight into his remarks regarding McLaren being the only team with two strong drivers.

Suzuka focus = 🔛🤝#McLaren | #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/k7ksMUFDYV
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 2, 2025

“Obviously, Lewis is new to the Ferrari, he openly says he's still learning how to use the steering wheel - the complexity of the steering wheel, not just how to use one," Norris said.

"So is he going to be able to get every last bit of it out of the car compared to what me and Oscar can? No, he's openly admitting to that."

“So it's not that I think I'm much better than Lewis or Charles, because I don't, and I have always been the first to admit that, I would never put myself on any pedestal ever."

"But how we work as a team, I do think is better than every other team. How we push each other and get the more out of one another as two drivers."

“I also agree we’re better than any other team. So I think that's our advantage.”

Month 4️⃣ of 2025 is here! 🧡#McLaren pic.twitter.com/67vw7BgcVm
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 1, 2025

The field could tighten up as teams balance focus for the fresh 2026 regulations while trying to make the most of 2025.

With a current car advantage, McLaren could rest on their laurels in 2025 and shift their attention to 2026.

In the fourth year of this set of regulations, the grid is extremely tight, and McLaren's car advantage could slip, putting Norris's theory about the driver line-up being the x-factor to the test.