What ‘a lot of people’ are now saying about Lando Norris 2025 title chances compared to Max Verstappen

Lando Norris missed the chance to close the gap to Oscar Piastri at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Max Verstappen starts to mount pressure on McLaren.

The Brit has got the better of his teammate in the last two races as he cuts Piastri’s lead down to 25 points. But Norris was off the podium in Baku as Verstappen claimed a dominant victory.

The Dutchman claimed a clean sweep at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix while McLaren suffered their worst weekend of the season. Piastri crashed on the opening lap, having done so in qualifying, while Norris could only manage P7.

Norris was hurt by another slow McLaren pit stop as he could not make up ground during the race. Verstappen’s win moves him 69 points behind Piastri and 44 points away from Norris in second.

With seven races to go, the four-time champion may have put himself back in the title picture. Helmut Marko says Verstappen could make McLaren ‘nervous’ if he is fast in Singapore – his form has spelt trouble for Norris’ title chances.

‘A lot of people’ think Max Verstappen beating Lando Norris is ‘more realistic’ than Lando Norris beating Oscar Piastri

Norris has only managed to gain nine points on Piastri in the last two races. He failed to take advantage of his teammate’s mistakes in Baku, while Verstappen is enjoying a huge resurgence at Red Bull as they give him more freedom with strategy and setup.

His 69-point gap to Piastri might be too much for him to mount a serious title challenge. But journalist Laurence Edmondson says ‘a lot of people’ think Verstappen stands a ‘more realistic’ chance of beating Norris than the McLaren star does beating his teammate.

“I just don’t think it was the performance that Norris needed at this stage in the season,” said Edmondson via Pit Pass F1 after the race in Baku.

“If you look at the trend of the last two races, I’m trying not to get myself too zoned in on what’s happened over the last two races.

“But there’s a lot of people now saying that Max is going to finish ahead of Norris in the championship, as a more realistic possibility than Norris beating Piastri.

“And based on what we saw on the weekend, it’s hard to argue with that.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Should McLaren be worried about Max Verstappen’s form in their bid to win the 2025 title

McLaren’s weekend in Baku was a disaster on all counts. They missed the opportunity to win the constructors’ championship, scoring just six points.

McLaren must fix their issues with pit stops if they want to give Norris any chance of catching Piastri. But even with the slow stop in Baku, the MCL39 generally lacked performance compared to Verstappen.

Andrea Stella said after the race that Red Bull have caught McLaren in development. The team are concerned about the Dutchman’s form, but upcoming circuits such as COTA and Mexico City might be better suited to the Woking outfit.

Singapore has been a difficult track for Red Bull in the past, which gives McLaren the chance to pull further away and take Verstappen out of the picture for good. But Toto Wolff has warned Norris and Piastri to be ‘wary’ if the Dutchman realises that he can win in 2025.