Norris identifies the 'big difference' between racing Verstappen and Piastri (2025)

One thing that Lando Norris has over his current McLaren teammate and championship leader, Oscar Piastri, is the previous experience fighting for a Formula 1 world championship.

Since the beginning of F1’s 2022 regulations, Norris has been the only driver to put up a genuine title fight against Max Verstappen amid his total dominance of the era, which has seen him win three consecutive championships to add to his maiden title in 2021.

Mistakes from Norris ended up costing him dearly, as Verstappen clinched the title in Las Vegas following the continuation of Red Bull’s downward trajectory in performance.

Norris and Verstappen are close off the track, and their relationship took quite a hit in the midst of their heated on-track battles. The pair clashed at various points throughout the season, namely in Austria and Mexico.

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Lando Norris’s current battle with Oscar Piastri is ‘completely different’ to his fight with Max Verstappen last year

In an interview with L’Equipe, Norris was asked if his previous experience of going toe-to-toe with Verstappen for the F1 drivers’ title in 2024 has been beneficial in his current battle with Piastri for the 2025 championship.

The McLaren driver was sceptical about putting both Piastri and Verstappen in the same boat, highlighting their driving styles that can be placed on opposite ends of the spectrum.

The Dutchman can be more aggressive in his front-end approach to corners, whilst Piastri adopts a smoother and calmer demeanour.

“No, I don’t think so,” Norris replied. “I don’t think it changes much, honestly. First of all, because the opponent is completely different. One is my teammate, the other was a world champion and one of the hardest people in the world to overtake.

“I would even say the hardest person in the world to overtake. There’s a big difference in the way Oscar and I race against each other and the way Max and I race against each other.”

The fact that Piastri also races in the papaya of McLaren does make quite a difference. Andrea Stella has enforced rules on his drivers as the team principal looks towards a toxicity-free future with the team, which hopes to challenge for more titles in the future.

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Lando Norris could close the gap to Oscar Piastri in Zandvoort, a track he has won at in the past

With Piastri currently holding a slender nine-point lead over his McLaren teammate, the title is still anyone’s to play for as the grid returns to action at the Dutch Grand Prix following the summer break.

Zandvoort is a circuit where Norris has performed well in the past. The British driver broke the hearts of Verstappen’s beloved ‘Orange Army’ at last year’s edition of the race as he took pole position and a fastest lap on his way to his first Grand Prix victory at the track.

On the other side of the garage, Zandvoort hasn’t been the most favourable track for the Australian driver. The lack of previous results there spurred Piastri and McLaren to undertake a TPC test at the track earlier in the year in a string of extra preparations amid his shot at a world championship.

The extra tests have already proved to be beneficial for the 24-year-old. He also underwent a test at Barcelona, another track that has been notorious for Piastri in the past, and used the extra mileage to help him take his fourth pole position and third Grand Prix victory of the year at the Spanish Grand Prix.