{"id":293591,"date":"2025-11-18T23:12:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/293591\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T23:12:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:12:04","slug":"damon-hill-tips-lando-norris-to-win-drivers-championship-oscar-piastri-looks-a-bit-forlorn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/293591\/","title":{"rendered":"Damon Hill tips Lando Norris to win drivers&#8217; championship, Oscar Piastri &#8216;looks a bit forlorn&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Damon Hill has backed his fellow British driver <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/person\/lando-norris-25xj\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lando Norris<\/a> for the 2025 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/motorsport\/formula-1\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Formula 1<\/a> drivers&#8217; championship, arguing his seven-season experience will lend him a hand in fighting for the top honours.<\/p>\n<p>Hill, who won the drivers&#8217; championship in 1996, has admitted that Norris has seen a resurgence in performance at the &#8220;perfect time&#8221; to snatch the championship, already leading by 24 points in the standings, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/person\/oscar-piastri-266l\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Oscar Piastri<\/a> looks &#8220;forlorn&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on Norris, Hill highlighted how he has &#8220;learned about fighting for a world championship&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/news-2025-eli-katoa-ruled-out-2026-season-medical-update-20251118-p5ngfk.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sickening Katoa incident takes sad turn as Storm get clarity<\/a><\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/news-2025-the-mole-exclusive-r360-target-billy-smith-payne-haas-broncos-20251118-p5ngj1.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Latest contracted NRL star on R360&#8217;s radar after Haas blow<\/a><\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/cricket\/the-ashes-2025-alex-carey-not-convinced-of-barmy-armys-reported-silence-warned-of-taunts-20251118-p5ngj7.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">&#8216;Get under his skin&#8217;: Barmy Army to target Aussie &#8216;villain&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Damon Hill has backed Lando Norris to win the drivers championship. \" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/d05e81d7042d0992656a07d93562aaf0f211d915.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"d40ab0ad209f9332-text d40ab0ad209f9332-body-2\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Damon Hill has backed Lando Norris to win the drivers championship. \u00a0Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s found something, hasn&#8217;t he? And it&#8217;s been perfect timing,&#8221; Hill said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s come at a time when Oscar suddenly looks a bit forlorn, a bit under pressure.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re both learning about fighting for a world championship\u2026 It&#8217;s not the same as just driving.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It becomes a discipline, really, a mental and psychological discipline which is quite demanding,&#8221; Hill added.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what the goal is: To find out who&#8217;s got the right stuff and who hasn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Lando is world champion material; he&#8217;s already shown that this year.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Race winner Lando Norris celebrates on arrival in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/4345cb8e1fa548afa42af90e76757263ff6ab945.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"d40ab0ad209f9332-text d40ab0ad209f9332-body-2\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">Race winner Lando Norris celebrates on arrival in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico.\u00a0Formula 1 via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Yes, there was a time when he went missing, but he&#8217;s definitely back with a vengeance now, so it&#8217;s looking good for him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Head to head stats<\/p>\n<p>Race Results:<\/p>\n<p>12 &#8211; Norris, 10 &#8211; Piastri<\/p>\n<p>The slight edge in overall race results that Norris has snatched comes down to a combination of consistency and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/motorsport\/formula-1\/f1-news-2025-oscar-piastri-crash-sprint-race-brazil-grand-prix-title-hopes-rankings-20251109-p5n8t3.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">late-season form<\/a>. Piastri had a dominant spell in the middle of the season and proved incredibly quick when the car suited him, Norris arguably had fewer days of poor performance. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/motorsport\/f1-news-2025-oscar-piastri-grilld-burger-promotion-points-equation-title-drivers-championship-brazil-grand-prix-20251110-p5n93o.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Norris&#8217; late-season surge means he has converted his speed to victories when Piastri may have faltered<\/a> with a smaller points haul or error.<\/p>\n<p>Qualifying:<\/p>\n<p>11 &#8211; Norris, 10 &#8211; Piastri<\/p>\n<p>The near-identical qualifying tally reflects the one lap speed of both drivers in the McLaren car, with Norris just edging it out by slim margins. Although his performance was inconsistent in the first half of the season, the Brit capitalised on recent races and took a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/motorsport\/f1-news-2025-brazilian-grand-prix-results-lando-norris-wins-oscar-piastri-fifth-penalty-video-20251110-p5n8y7.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">dominant lights-to-flag victory in Brazil<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Piastri often adapted to the car&#8217;s setup and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/motorsport\/formula-1\/f1-news-2025-oscar-piastri-pole-position-dutch-grand-prix-mclaren-teammate-lando-norris-max-verstappen-20250831-p5mr5r.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">raced to the top of the timesheets<\/a> to nail the lap when Norris made a small error, resulting in a qualifying head-to-head statistic that is too close to call until the final three weekends.<\/p>\n<p>Best Result:<\/p>\n<p>1st place x 7 &#8211; Both <\/p>\n<p>The equal number of Grand Prix wins highlights both drivers are equally capable of delivering the win. Piastri often excelled in races where the car felt more grounded to the track, suiting his smoother driving style. This was present early in the season, while Norris demonstrated his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/motorsport\/f1-news-2024-abu-dhabi-grand-prix-review-results-lando-norris-wins-oscar-piastri-max-verstappen-clash-video-highlights-20241209-p5kwtj.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">well-known ability to dominate in a late season run<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Las Vegas will see a showdown between Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/motorsport\/f1-news-2025-oscar-piastri-comments-low-grip-theory-lando-norris-prevails-20251031-p5n6sx.html\" class=\"Link-styles__Wrapper-sc-b307e8cd-0 cqBmwR\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">on a track that primarily suits Norris more with a low-grip<\/a> temperament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Damon Hill has backed his fellow British driver Lando Norris for the 2025 Formula 1 drivers&#8217; championship, arguing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-293591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-motor","11":"tag-motor-sports","12":"tag-motosport","13":"tag-motosports","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}