Sebastian Vettel declares Lando Norris ‘has what it takes’ to win F1 title

Former F1 champion Sebastian Vettel insisted that Lando Norris was capable of winning the world title this year.

Sebastian Vettel declares Lando Norris ‘has what it takes’ to win F1 title

Lando Norris and Sebastian Vettel (images via IMAGO)

Lando Norris emerged as a title contender for the first time in Formula 1 last year when he challenged Max Verstappen. Unfortunately, the Briton could not pull off a successful title fight and lost to the Red Bull star. Now, as McLaren once again provides a quick car to Norris, former F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel insists that the 25-year-old can be a world champion.

Norris kicked off the 2025 F1 season in style after taking an impressive victory in Australia. The 25-year-old stayed calm during tricky weather conditions and retained the lead. Even when Max Verstappen chased him during the final stages of the race, with a gap of less than half a second, Lando Norris managed to keep things in order and win the Grand Prix.

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Sebastian Vettel asserted that Norris has shown that he does have what it takes to become an F1 world champion. The German reckoned that the 25-year-old possessed the skills of a champion. Moreover, Vettel was convinced that Lando Norris will have a much stronger campaign this year after learning from his mistakes in 2024.

I think he has shown that he has what it takes. It has all the skills, I think this year will be stronger thanks to the experiences gathered in 2024

Sebastian Vettel told the BBC

The British driver has indeed improved so far this year. Despite facing criticism for his self-critical approach, Lando Norris has used it to his advantage and worked on preventing mistakes. Currently, he leads the championship standings from second-placed Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen never ‘out of the game’ in F1

On the other hand, the 2025 season has been much more challenging for Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion does not have the quickest car on the grid, with the RB21 trailing behind the McLaren chassis by a significant margin. This has made things difficult for Milton Keynes in the battle at the front of the grid.

Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (via Red Bull Content Pool)
Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Nevertheless, Max Verstappen has continued to push himself to the limit. The Dutch driver defied expectations to take second place in Melbourne with a similar result in the Chinese GP Sprint. However, the main race in Shanghai once again exposed Red Bull’s weakness. As Verstappen could only bring home a fourth-place finish, behind the two McLarens and George Russell.

Sebastian Vettel was confident that one could never rule out Max Verstappen. He insisted that Red Bull will likely recover from its slump in the coming races. Additionally, the German reckoned that even the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari will join the fight at the front in what could become an exciting four-way battle for the championship.

He is never out of the game, and I think Red Bull will recover. We’ll see if other teams get in the running: the Ferraris will be there and maybe even Mercedes will be strong.

Sebastian Vettel added

Lando Norris vs Max Verstappen for 2025 title

Verstappen and Norris share a strong friendship in and outside the F1 paddock. However, this friendship does not mean anything once the two hit the track and go wheel-to-wheel against one another. After a failed bid in 2024, Lando Norris has only come back stronger with the aim of finally ending the Dutch driver’s domination on the grid.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull content pool)
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull content pool)

While Max Verstappen is prepared to fight tooth and nail in order to defend the title. As such, fans will likely see the two drivers continue to clash on the track over the course of the season. Although, this would only happen if Red Bull can still have a car that can match Norris’ MCL39.

Certainly, the 2025 season is going to be full of action. Fans can’t really predict the winner of any Grand Prix before race day on Sunday. However, McLaren and Lando Norris remain the favorites for the world title so far. It remains to be seen if teams like Red Bull and Ferrari can manage to outperform the British team by the end of the season.