F1 Pundit Gives ‘Far from over’ Verdict on Lando Norris’ Title Chances

Johnny Herbert believes that Lando Norris' championship chances aren't over yet despite falling short of Oscar Piastri on-track so far this season.

F1 Pundit Gives ‘Far from over’ Verdict on Lando Norris’ Title Chances

Lando Norris (via RacingNews365)

Lando Norris started the 2025 season looking very strong and remained at the top of the drivers’ table. However, the Briton committed multiple mistakes on track that caused him to lose the running to his teammate, Oscar Piastri. Also, Norris is facing a massive threat from Max Verstappen for the runner-up spot as he is just nine points away from the former. Still, ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert believes that the 25-year-old’s championship chances are not over yet.

Oscar Piastri emerged as one of the strongest competitors to Lando Norris this year, apart from Max Verstappen. The two McLaren drivers are racing each other hard this year and getting their money’s worth. While Piastri has remained error-free in his driving on the track, Norris still isn’t far behind him in the standings. McLaren Racing’s CEO Zak Brown has already asserted that the drivers’ title is far from over this year as multiple drivers set their eyes on the prize.

Johnny Herbert joins Brown’s bandwagon as he points out that Norris isn’t out of the running yet as he is still fast enough on the track. As such, the 25-year-old has to dig deep and get the maximum performance out of the car, much like Piastri. Moreover, Herbert adviced the Briton to divert all the energy that he has outside of the track back into the cockpit of his car in order to achieve a performance boost.

Is he out of the running? No, he’s not. Is he fast enough? Absolutely. So it’s just really him being able to dig deep, get in all the performance he can out of the car, and all the energy actually out of the team as well, and try and use that when he gets in the cockpit of the car.

Johnny Herbert told Talksport

Herbert clearly states that the drivers’ championship battle is far from over as Lando Norris aims to bridge the gap to his Aussie counterpart in the standings. The 60-year-old also made a bold claim that the title battle is supposed to happen only between Oscar Piastri and Norris towards the end as he rules out the possibility of Max Verstappen fighting at the forefront.

It is far from over this championship, but it looks as if it’s definitely going to be a battle between Lando and Oscar.

Johnny Herbert added

Johnny Herbert claims Lando Norris ‘needs to up his game’

Lando Norris’ performance in the 2025 season has remained subpar as compared to Oscar Piastri who has won four out of the seven races already. Norris who is known to be too critical of his own mistakes can’t stop from commiting them this season as he has already crashed out once during the Saudi Arabian GP. As such, the 25-year-old needs to ensure that such situations never happen again in order to stay in the championship contention.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Motorsportweek)
McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via Motorsportweek)

Johnny Herbert, despite having a liking towards Lando Norris reckons that the latter must up his game a little more than his current results. The 60-year-old claims that his mistakes have crept in much more as compared to Piastri’s flawless run this year. Herbert also applauded the Aussie for his great run since the beginning of this season as he holds onto his championship lead.

It’s one of those things, you’ve got to say Lando has to probably up his game a little bit more. The mistakes that have probably crept in a little bit too often compared to Oscar, who seems to be on a very good run at the present time.

Johnny Herbert noted

The McLaren challenger’s pace has clearly remained superior to the rivals as they are still the car to beat this season. While Woking’s pace is seemingly better, the rivals, especially Mercedes and Red Bull seem to be catching up to them. Hence, the team must keep up with the development throughout the season to ensure that they do not fall short in speed.

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