Two weeks after his dramatic collision with his McLaren teammate in Canada, Lando Norris has suggested that his closely fought championship battle with Oscar Piastri will ultimately be decided not by outright pace, but by who keeps their mistakes to a minimum.
Norris’ 2025 campaign has been a mix of brilliance and blunders. A misstep in Bahrain saw him start out of his grid box, complicating his charge to third. A qualifying crash in Saudi Arabia was another setback, though he salvaged fourth in the race.
In Miami and Imola, Norris underperformed in Q3, and in Barcelona, he admitted to making “too many little mistakes” on his final qualifying lap, handing pole position to Piastri.
The Canadian Grand Prix was the low point, with Norris misjudging an overtaking attempt on Piastri and causing a race-ending crash that cost him at least 10 points.
Despite these errors, the Briton has consistently reached the podium in every other race, keeping him in the mix for the world title, although he now sits 22 points behind Piastri.
“Yeah, certainly. I've been making more mistakes and I've been behind, so I think that's been clear,” Norris said on Thursday, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
“I think it's very close between us. Oscar's certainly been a bit more comfortable than I have this season, and that's the way it is.
“And I've had to try and improve and step up more than what I've had to in the past, simply because of some of the struggles and difficulties that I've had with the car this year."
McLaren Strengthens After Canada Clash
Norris didn’t go into detail about what was said behind closed doors at McLaren following the incident in Montreal, but he owned up to the error and emphasized that the aftermath had strengthened the team dynamic.
“There's been good understanding of everything from my side and explaining that to the team. I think I made it clear from the immediate moment that I misjudged it and I took the fault for it,” he said.
“Of course, not the most joyful conversations, but conversations that needed to be had, clearly. We all know what rule number one was, and continues and will always be."
Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Norris said the discussions between himself, Piastri, and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had a positive outcome – reinforcing trust and mutual respect between the two drivers.
“The trust in the honesty that Oscar and I have for one another, it's important that we keep it up, because we don't want to have the downfall that we know many other teams have had in the past.
“We want to race each other fair and hard and on the limit, and not have a repeat of what happened last time out.
“Many things have come out stronger than I would say they were prior to the weekend, which you might not expect, but I think it's a good outcome.”
A Season of Margins
Piastri, for his part, hasn’t been immune to mistakes either. Missed opportunities in Australia, Japan and Monaco on race day or in qualifying have shown that the battle for McLaren supremacy is still very much open.
But Norris acknowledged that his teammate has had the upper hand more often – and that the challenge of taming McLaren’s difficult 2025 car has forced him to push harder than before.
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Piastri: ‘No big decisions’ at McLaren after Norris clash in Canada“But it's also my job to drive whatever car I get given. So yes, it's been tough, and Oscar's been doing a good job,” he added.
“It's been exciting to see how close it is, and good for the team as well, because I think that unlocks another step that not many other teams have. But yeah, at the minute, that's how I would probably say it.”
Norris knows there's little room left for error if he wants to stay in the title hunt — but after Canada, he says he’s moved forward.
“It took me a little time” to get over the crash, Norris admitted.
“My team means everything to me. The people that I've grown up with, the people that have given me more opportunity in Formula 1.”
As the season enters its critical mid-stretch, the battle at McLaren continues to be one of the most compelling – and unforgiving – narratives in the championship.
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