Ex-F1 Driver Declares Max Verstappen More of a ‘Worry’ for Lando Norris Than Oscar Piastri in Title Fight

Former F1 driver Perry McCarthy made it clear that Max Verstappen will be a bigger problem for Lando Norris than Oscar Piastri in the championship battle.

Ex-F1 Driver Declares Max Verstappen More of a ‘Worry’ for Lando Norris Than Oscar Piastri in Title Fight

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (images via IMAGO)

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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are in a close battle for the 2025 F1 world championship. The former still trails behind the Australian driver by 31 points after the Italian GP. While this is a two-horse fight, Max Verstappen’s shock victory at Monza might complicate things for McLaren. Now, former F1 driver Perry McCarthy reckons that Norris would be the one who would have more to lose.

Since the start of the season, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have enjoyed a significant pace advantage to the rest of the grid, including a gap to Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Verstappen did win a couple of wins earlier this year, but the Dutchman had failed to be consistent. Nevertheless the Italian GP could be a turning point. Max Verstappen not only clinched victory but even set the record for the fastest win in F1 history.

Now, Perry McCarthy has pointed out that in a scenario where Max Verstappen can continue to fight for wins, things get tricky for McLaren. Lando Norris would no longer be able to win consistently to reduce his points deficit to Oscar Piastri. Rather, the Briton might be forced to only get P2 results in several races.

It really affects Lando more because if Max is able to win, and in a scenario where you’ve got McLaren second and third with Lando ahead, the ability to reduce the gap is greatly reduced.

Perry McCarthy told RacingNews365

If Lando Norris wins a race with Oscar Piastri in second place, the Briton gains 7 points over his teammate. But if Norris gets second place with Piastri in third, the 25-year-old only scores 3 points more, as was the case in Monza. This could become an alarming concern for Lando Norris. So much so, McCarthy insisted that Max Verstappen’s return to the top step of the podium was more of a concern for Norris than his teammate.

The biggest spread of course is to win the race and hope your team-mate is second or third or fourth because you then get meaningful points back to try and overcome the deficit… So for me, Verstappen would be more the worry for Lando than Oscar. They’re certainly just out to race themselves.

Perry McCarthy added

Max Verstappen taking away ‘birthday presents’ from Lando Norris

Max Verstappen doesn’t care who is going to win the title. The Dutchman gave up on his championship hopes weeks ago amid Red Bull’s persistent performance struggles. However, the four-time world champion will not do anything out of his way to help Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri. Rather, Verstappen can simply throw a spanner in the works for both drivers.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Perry McCarthy asserted that if Verstappen can continue to win more races, it would be like taking away birthday presents from Lando Norris. In a sense, Norris would be losing the best opportunities to reduce his points gap to Oscar Piastri.

But having Max in there, and if he is able to take some wins, it is like you are taking away the big birthday presents to reduce the championship lead if you’re not winning, and it takes away the big boy points on the points spread.

Perry McCarthy explained

Certainly, Lando Norris needs to face Max Verstappen in the coming races. The British driver cannot afford to be stuck behind the Red Bull in the remaining races of the season. Moreover, Norris must also ensure that he can continue to outperform Piastri till the end of the season.

Read More: Max Verstappen Pinpoints Red Bull Asking ‘Right Questions’ After Laurent Mekies Replaced Christian Horner