Ex-F1 racer tips Oscar Piastri over Lando Norris for F1 title

Oscar Piastri has received further support in his bid for a maiden Formula 1 world championship.

Piastri currently heads the Drivers’ Championship by nine points over his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, with 10 races remaining in F1 2025.

Oscar Piastri tipped to claim maiden F1 championship

Though his points advantage has been eroded away in recent races, Piastri remains favourite for the title in the eyes of ex-F1 racer turned commentator Christian Danner.

“He is less prone to making mistakes,” the German said of Piastri in an interview with German publication ran. “Not only has he proven this, it is also evident in his manner: calm, thoughtful, focused. He hardly ever loses his cool.

“For me, the pendulum is clearly swinging in his direction. But Norris’ fans need not be sad. It’s so close that it will probably only be decided in the last race.”

Norris has won three of the last four races as McLaren has locked out the top two steps of the podium throughout that stretch.

It is a run that has helped catapult McLaren into a virtually unassailable position in the Constructors’ Championship, and narrowed the drivers’ competition to a two-horse race.

Mathematically, only Oliver Bearman, Franco Colapinto, and Jack Doohan are out of title contention, though in reality it’s a straight shoot-out between the two McLaren drivers.

Norris led the championship in the early races before a strong run of four wins in five races left Piastri at the top of the standings.

But despite the Brit having built up a head of steam of sorts ahead of the summer break, Danner believes he’ll fall short of his ultimate goal.

“Success is always the best means to more success,” he said in reference to Norris’ current run of results.

“But it must also be said that Norris has had a little more luck in recent races than Piastri, whether at Silverstone or Budapest. And luck doesn’t stay with one driver forever.

“Psychologically, the momentum may be with Norris at the moment, but that doesn’t bother Piastri at all. He’s sticking to his style.”

The McLaren duo are vastly different characters.

While Piastri is calm, considered, and resilient, Norris has demonstrated time and again how he wears his heart on his sleeve.

That has prompted 1980 world champion Alan Jones to describe the nine-time race winner as “weak”.

“He’s coming out with all this nonsense that he’s got a bit of a mental thing, he’s dwelling on some of the problems he’s had rather than the positives,” said the Australian.

“When they start talking all that nonsense, you know you’ve got them.”

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By contrast, Piastri is far more restrained and calculated, personality traits that have seen parallels drawn with four-time world champion Alain Prost – a man nicknamed The Professor.

“I like the way he behaves, a little bit like me, thinking about when to do the right manoeuvre for overtaking and being a little bit more clever,” the French legend said in an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

It’s that trait, even if Piastri himself doesn’t necessarily agree fully with the comparison, that will be the defining difference according to Danner.

“What’s interesting is that we’re dealing with two completely different types: on the one hand, there’s the smiling heartthrob Lando Norris, who comes across as charming at times and melancholic at others.

“On the other hand, there’s the rather pale, emotionless, very analytical Oscar Piastri. And yet both drive at the absolute top level, with speeds that are identical to within a hundredth of a second. That’s really impressive.

“Personally, I believe that Piastri will win in the end.”

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