Lando Norris F1 News: HUGE advantage over rival revealed

Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Imola, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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HUGE Norris advantage over F1 rival revealed

The McLaren star is chasing a maiden F1 world title

Kevin McKenna

Tuesday 19 November 2024 10:57

McLaren star Lando Norris currently holds a key advantage over one of his F1 rivals, it has been claimed.

The British star has had somewhat of a breakthrough season in 2024, winning his first-ever grand prix in Miami earlier this campaign, and taking two more victories on the way to emerging as a genuine contender to Max Verstappen.

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However, Verstappen's stunning victory in Brazil last time out extended his advantage at the top of the standings to 62 points, and with just three rounds remaining in 2024, the Dutchman looks almost certain to retain his crown.

Norris may still have reason to celebrate come the end of the season however, with McLaren leading the way in the constructors' championship.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are fighting it out for the drivers' title

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have propelled McLaren to the top of the standings

Norris 'has the edge'

Thanks to the efforts of Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri, the Silverstone-based outfit have surged past Red Bull in the constructors' standings, with Ferrari now their closest rivals.

While Norris has dominated much of the headlines this season, his team-mate has made a big impression in just his second year in the sport, with some believing he could be a championship contender in 2025.

BBC Sport pundit Andrew Benson has been suitably impressed with what the Australian has produced so far, but believes Norris still holds the upper hand going into 2025.

"Piastri has had a good season, there is no doubt about that. He has followed up his maiden victory in Hungary with a second in Azerbaijan, taken with a daring and opportunistic overtaking move on Charles Leclerc," Benson wrote in a recent BBC Sport Q&A.

Oscar Piastri has made significant improvements in his second season in F1

"He has also shown some robust and clinical racing skills - not just with that win in Baku, but with his first-lap pass of Norris around the outside of the second chicane in Monza, for example.

"He's also in only his second season, whereas Norris is in his sixth, but be that as it may, Norris has been conclusively faster."

Benson pointed to Norris' superior qualifying record as one example of this: "Until Piastri took sprint pole at the last race in Brazil, he had not out-qualified Norris on merit since Monaco, and Norris has a 0.15-second average advantage over his team-mate over one lap this season,"

"Together, they make one of the strongest driver line-ups on the grid, and how the internal battle at McLaren plays out in the next couple of years is one of the most interesting questions in the sport.

"But at the moment, based on their careers so far, Norris has had the edge."

F1 Max Verstappen Mercedes McLaren Lando Norris Brazilian Grand Prix