Lando Norris believes that the way he and team colleague Oscar Piastri “push each other” means that McLaren has the strongest assembly of the driver on the Formula 1 grid.
Norris and Piastri won the opening two F1 races from 2025 and are ready for the season for a long battle for the title in their third campaign as a teammate in McLaren.
Although neither of them received the drivers’ championship, unlike Max Verstappen Red Bull or Ferrari Lewis Hamilton, Norris tried to improve the quality of McLaren’s pairing in front of the Japanese Grand Prix.
“I am sure that on every song at the time we are strong. But we have seen in the last week and a half, other people say they don’t think we’re so far,” said the current leader of the championship.
“Like Max, he could say things, his last stint in China was very strong, still not as good as we were, but it was much more competitive. I saw that Fred Vasseur said that Ferrari should compete against us and much more, defeated us in sprint and they qualified ahead.
“We’re not so far ahead. People like to say that, I mean, because we’re literally the only team that has two good drivers in a minute. That’s a big difference.
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Emphasizes from the Chinese Grand Prix from 2025 from the international circuit in Shanghai
“If one of us was much worse, or one of us wasn’t as strong as if Oscar was the other in Chinese sprint and I was eighth, but you would have it more often as you with Ferrari, or as if you were doing it with Red Bull. Max is upstairs and you have another driver much back.
“Just the fact that we have two good drivers, sincerely makes the biggest difference, because in some cases I don’t think we had the fastest car, whether it was a sprint in China or a qualifying or race, but the fact that we have only two good drivers pushing each other than people expect.”
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Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz reflects all the big points of speaking from the Chinese Grand Prix
McLaren and Aston Martin were the only teams that kept the driver’s line -up from 2024 to this season when half of the grid changed.
Norris thinks that the time that needs to be adapted to the new team, including Hamilton, gives McLaren an advantage.
“Ferrari is an experience in F1 because we are missing in this department. (We) we have only two drivers who understand the team who have been in the team for a long time,” he added, as asked to further elaborate on his comments.
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Lewis Hamilton speaks in front of the Japanese Grand Prix and says he has full confidence in Ferrari will manage to fix problems with their car
“Lewis is new in Ferrari. He openly says he is still learning how to use the complexity of the steering wheel. He will be able to get every last piece of the car compared to what I and Oscar can I? No, it will open openly.
“So it’s not that I think I’m much better than Lewis or Charles, because I don’t, and I always admitted it first.
“But as we work as a team, I think it is better than any other team. As we push each other and get more of the other as two drivers, I also agree that we are better than any other team, so I think it is our advantage.”
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Lando Norris looks back at his challenging victory in the first Grand Prix of the season in Melbourne
Norris: I am ready this year for the title
Norris is eight points ahead of Verstappen after two events, nine points ahead of George Russell and 10 points without teammate Piasstri.
The 25 -year -old has previously said that he and McLaren were not ready to win the title of drivers last season, but he thinks this year is “different” because Verstappen did not create the management of the early championship.
“I was just in a situation I was last year when I was 40-50 points, which was lost at the beginning, it is just very difficult to return from it,” he said.
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The couple Chelsea Levi Colwill and Robert Sanchez were their steps on the simulator F1 McLaren Lando Norris before the new season
“Although we had the best car and Max fought in some races, he still never had a bad result. He did a very good job and easily deserved it last year, but shows that as soon as the car is a little better, as if it were this year.
“Once they have a little fight, as we had last year, how much worse it does, everything is just relative in certain ways.
“Not only do I think we have improved the car and now we have the best car, but I also think we have improved a lot between the Oscar and I both.
“I also feel as if I was ready for what the situation could be, whether it be a racing against Max or Oscar or Lewis or Charles. I feel more prepared to know which level I have to be, whether it is risky or continuous.
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Listen to the cheerful reaction of Oscar Piastriho as he asks who has a better chance of defeating England in ashes or with his teammate Lando Norris
Piastri does not look at the championship ranking
After turning to the Australian Grand Prix, which opened, Piastri last gained 13 points in China to put Norris only 10 points coming this weekend.
Piastri says he didn’t care about the loss of so many points in the first race.
“You never want to give any advantage away, whether it’s time or points.
“But with 22 races it would be quite a stressful year if you have already taken care of the gap. For me it is just trying to ensure that I do the best I can do every weekend. I feel that the first two weekends of the year were good examples and think that if you do it, the points naturally take care of themselves.”
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The McLaren driver Oscar Piastri ran on the grass and let him re -join the last place in Australia before recovering to the ninth!
Verstappen won the races last year, when Red Bull seemed to have no fastest car that Piastri mentioned would be key in the title battle of this season for McLaren.
“The first six races are as important as the last six. But apparently the last six will get a much better picture of where everyone sits and similar things,” he added.
“I had a lot of championships where you look at the gaps and where you lost points and things. You usually don’t really look at where they came in the year. You just look at the fact that you lost the points you lost in the season, so it’s not about it when it happens.
“I think that even in this situation later in the year you are always trying to maximize what you have every weekend. Just like saying that” Max won the championship at the beginning of last season “, at the end also hung it up and really lost no points on Lando or anyone at the end of the season.
Sky Sports F1’s Live Japanese GP Schedule
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments that took place on the Japanese Grand Prix
Friday 4th April
- 3AM: Japanese practical GP one (session starts at 3.30 pm)*
- 5.30: 00: Team directors press conference
- 6.45: 00: Japanese practice GP Two (session starts at 7 o’clock)*
- 8.15: 00: Show F1*
Saturday 5th April
- 3.15: 00: Japanese practice GP three (session starts at 3.30 pm)*
- 6:00: Japanese qualification of Japanese GP*
- 7:00: Qualification of Japanese GP*
- 9:00: Ted’s qualifying notebook*
Sunday 6th April
- 4.30: Setup of Japanese GP: Sunday Grand Prix*
- 6:00: Japanese Grand Prix*
- 8:00: Japanese GP reaction: chessboard*
- 9:00: Ted’s notebook*
*Live also at the main Sky Sports event
The formula is this weekend on the Suzuka iconic circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix, Live On Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with now – no contract whenever cancel
