Lando Norris F1 News: Ralf Schumacher delivers painful snub to McLaren driver but he has a point

Ralf Schumacher, Lando Norris, Social, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Ralf Schumacher delivers painful Lando Norris snub but he has a point

Ralf Schumacher has not been swayed by Lando Norris's F1 title win

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Thursday 11 December 2025 08:56

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Lando Norris may be F1's new world champion but that hasn't convinced everyone he is the best in the business.

On Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the British star edged the championship by just two points from previous title winner and four-time champion Max Verstappen, who at one point was 104 points behind first place in the standings before enjoying a stunning second half of the season.

It results in Norris winning his first ever world championship and ensured that McLaren won both world championships, including the contructors' for the first time since 1998 with the pair of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.

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Norris though arguably had one of his weaker seasons in an F1 car. The first half of the campaign was error strewn as it appeared his tag of being favourite for the title was weighing him down as his team-mate Oscar Piastri built up an early advantage.

It was only after Norris retired from the Dutch Grand Prix after an engine failure that his season started to turn around, with the title pressure seemingly shifting towards Piastri.

But as Norris homed in on Piastri, so was Verstappen at a greater factor, despite driving a car that was only good enough for third place in the championship.

The Dutchman's Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, and previously Liam Lawson, struggled to even make it into the top 10 throughout the campaign.

Who is the best driver in F1?

Now Ralf Schumacher has revealed his thoughts on who is the best driver in the business, and he hasn't been swayed by Max Verstappen losing his title.

Schumacher told the Boxengasse podcast: You have to conclude that Verstappen is the best driver in Formula 1. That's simply true.

"If you look at it that way, the best driver didn't win this year. You have to be absolutely clear about that."

"But there are of course several reasons for that: the car over the entire season, the restructuring within the team, the fact that they essentially had to start over again. Verstappen has become a true leader. He was a bit of a lone driver at first, but now it's a unit."

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F1 Max Verstappen Lando Norris Ralf Schumacher