McLaren’s internal strategy appears to be pivoting around Oscar Piastri for the 2025 World Championship, after Lando Norris suffered a costly crash at the Canadian Grand Prix that damaged his title ambitions. According to former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher, Piastri has become the preferred contender within the team, as Norris has been displaying errors and inconsistencies.

Both drivers started the season on equal footing, with McLaren executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella vowing to treat them fairly in their championship battle. However, Norris’ recent mistake during the Canadian GP altered that balance significantly.

Canadian Grand Prix collision strains Norris’ championship hopes

McLaren’s teammates were allowed to race each other aggressively but cleanly, a policy Zak Brown summarized as

“race him hard, race him clean, don’t touch.”

During a duel for fourth place down the main straight in Canada, Norris collided with Piastri’s car by clipping his rear tyre, causing himself to crash into the pit wall.

Norris was forced to retire instantly from the race, while Piastri made a cautious pit stop under the Safety Car yet managed to maintain fourth place. This result expanded Piastri’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship from 10 to 22 points over Norris.

Ralf Schumacher believes this incident sealed Norris’ fate for the title race, stating,

“I believe that it is now internally decided that Piastri is the man the team will focus on in terms of the World Championship,”

and added,

“Lando shows too many weaknesses and makes too many mistakes, including his senseless driving into the back of Oscar in Canada.”

Comparing McLaren’s teammates in qualifying and race performance

Piastri currently leads Norris in both qualifying and race performances, holding a 6-4 advantage in head-to-head comparisons this season. Despite Norris showing strong race pace, his recurring qualifying errors, including a costly mistake in Canada that left him starting seventh, have hampered his overall championship challenge.

Schumacher acknowledged Norris’ character by highlighting his immediate acceptance of fault and apologies to Piastri and the team, saying,

“He has apologised and that shows what a great person he is.”

However, he emphasized a harsh reality,

“it’s no use, because great people rarely win titles.”

The Canadian GP weekend intensified questions about Norris’ mental resilience. Schumacher observed,

“This is the low point now because he has lost his nerve a bit.”

While Norris demonstrated superior race pace by closing the gap on Piastri, his mental state appears fragile under pressure.

Schumacher compared Norris’ precision to legendary drivers, remarking,

“In [Alain] Prost’s time, one would have said ‘professor’. The only problem is in Lando’s head.”

Expert opinion highlights Norris’ need for consistency to challenge Piastri

Sporting analyst Martin Brundle commented on Norris’ prospects, indicating the necessity for him to eliminate poor performances if he intends to outpace Piastri for the championship. Brundle stated,

“Lando won’t win a World Championship unless he can stop these weekends happening. It’s as simple as that.”

He emphasized Norris must maintain a high standard regularly, comparing him to the consistency displayed by Max Verstappen, and praised Piastri’s reliable delivery:

“Oscar’s much more solid in his delivery week in, week out, much more consistent.”

Brundle also pointed out the stark contrast in their performances, saying,

“I find it really confusing, those two different levels of performance. He needs to park one and deliver the other one more often, but there’s a long way to go.”

Despite Norris trailing by 22 points and having lost 45 points since Melbourne, Brundle stressed that the title race remains open. There is still room for Norris to recover, provided he stabilizes his form and limits mistakes throughout the season.