Nico Rosberg explained why Lando Norris was no longer his favorite for the 2025 F1 World Championship despite his “enormous talent.” The Briton is a strong contender for the title this year and is in an active battle with his teammate, Oscar Piastri, for the same.
The season started out well for McLaren, who carried their momentum from last year. They had managed to win the Constructors’ Championship. Capitalizing on the opportunity, the team began the season on a high and clinched multiple victories. Lando Norris, who has been driving for the team since the 2019 season, managed to clinch an early win. However, his performance subsided against his teammate. While Norris has won two races so far in the season, Piastri has clinched five and is comfortably leading the championship.
Former F1 driver Nico Rosberg recently revealed that Norris was his favorite for the title earlier this season. However, he stated that it has changed after the incident in Canada earlier this month.
“I’m also a big Lando fan, by the way, because he’s enormously talented and probably one of the most talented out there. And he was my absolute favorite for the championship as well,” he said.
When asked if his opinion on the driver had changed, Rosberg replied positively. He claimed that there are still mistakes that Norris needs to work on. He further mentioned that his teammate, Oscar Piastri, is now his favorite for the title.
“Yeah, so it’s in Canada that I changed that. In Canada, Oscar Piastra is now my favorite for the championship. Because Lando has not yet been able to iron out these regular mistakes. And that’s at the moment what would cost him from winning the championship.”
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were running P4 and P5 heading towards the end of the race. The drivers then locked each other up in a close battle. Heading towards turn 1, Norris moved towards the inside to perform an overtake. However, with no space over there, he made contact with his team, hitting the wall. His race ended while Piastri took P4.
Oscar Piastri reflects on his battle with teammate Lando Norris
The battle between the drivers was one to look out for. It was certainly one of the most interesting parts of the race as they fought for position in a very clean manner until the crash. While only Norris DNFed, it could have been a fatal incident for both, as Piastri was stuck from behind. But he managed to keep his car much under control, considering the angle of the impact.
Speaking of the incident after the race, the Australian driver stated that there were no bad intentions involved. He further mentioned that they are both fighting for the World Championship.
“It was a tough battle but a clean one,” Piastri said (via The Guardian). “I don’t think there were any bad intentions involved, I think it was just unfortunate. We’re both fighting for a world championship and I’m very thankful to the team that they allow us to race. I don’t expect this to change anything in terms of that.”
Oscar Piastri continues to lead the World Championship with 198 points in his bag. Lando Norris follows him up in second place with a 22-point deficit.
