McLaren are almost certain to have their first Formula 1 drivers’ champion since Lewis Hamilton this season.
With 10 races to go during the 2025 F1 season, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are miles clear of their nearest rivals in the standings.
Max Verstappen is 97 points behind Piastri, and McLaren’s car appears to be far superior to all of their rivals.
It won’t be long until Andrea Stella’s team wrap up the constructors’ championship, and then his drivers should be free to race.
Position Drivers’ Championship PointsPts 1 284 2 275 3 187 4 172 5 151 6 109 7 64 8 54 9 37 10 27
Piastri has one more win than Norris this year, although the British driver is on a roll of three victories in the last four races.
He’s benefited from a controversial penalty handed out to his Australian teammate at Silverstone and being forced onto the alternative strategy at the Hungarian Grand Prix that turned out to be quicker, but Norris will argue that you have to make your own luck in this sport.
Norris has enjoyed some psychologically important moments this year, and his comments to the media in particular have been heavily scrutinised.
James Hinchcliffe has admitted his open style of communication is reminiscent of the great Ayrton Senna, and was one of the traits that separated him from rival Alain Prost.
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Photo by Paul Bonser/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesMcLaren star Lando Norris told he shares a communication style with Ayrton Senna
Hinchcliffe was speaking about Norris’ attitude towards the media on The Red Flags Podcast and how he’s much more self-critical than many of his rivals.
He explained: “It’s like no one can criticise me better than I can criticise me.
“And the difference is, look, every driver actually goes home at night, closes their door, lies in bed and knows exactly what they did wrong.
“99% of them will not say that publicly, right? They’ll try to figure it out, but they’ll put on a brave face in the media.
“Lando’s kind of figured out that for him, it’s better to just get it out and not take it home with him and not let someone else say it in the media and perpetuate a story and credit to him.
“I actually give him a lot of credit for understanding that he doesn’t have to just fill this template that has been kind of written by the Max Verstappens and the Oscar Piastris of the current generation.
Photo by DOMINIQUE FAGETMICHEL GANGNEGERARD JULIENPASCAL PAVANI/AFP via Getty Images
“I like to bring it back to Senna because he was an incredibly emotional guy, right?
“And wore his heart on his sleeve and spoke in the media very openly about things that maybe other people wouldn’t, [it] worked for him.
“It’s very reminiscent of what McLaren’s dealing with today. On the other side of the garage, you have a guy that’s a lot more buttoned up, a lot less likely to say something in the media, a little more precise and kind of more ‘The Professor’ sort of vibe, right?
“There are certainly traits that are common among all of the great drivers or great athletes, right? That killer instinct, that crazy self-confidence.
“I think Lando is confident in his ability to drive a race car and the way he approaches dealing with this stuff.”
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Will Lando Norris emulate Ayrton Senna after Oscar Piastri is compared to Alain Prost?
Senna and Prost’s rivalry is one of the most famous in Formula 1 history, and led to two championships being decided by contact at successive Japanese Grand Prix.
Norris and Piastri came together in Canada, but the difference was that the British driver immediately apologised on the radio for his mistake.
ALAIN PROSTAYRTON SENNAGrand Prix starts199161Pole positions3365Wins5141Podiums10680Fastest laps4119Points768.5 (798.5)610 (614)Championships4 (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993)3 (1988, 1990, 1991)Alain Prost vs Ayrton Senna’s Formula 1 career records
Piastri has previously been compared to Prost, and he hopes that he can go on to be as successful as the Frenchman.
During their two seasons as teammates, Prost and Senna won a title each, but with F1’s regulations changing next year, McLaren might not be in such a dominant position again next year.
It means both drivers will understand how important it is to come out on top this season to avoid potentially missing out on their best chance to become a Formula 1 world champion.