P1 with Matt and Tommy - Lando Norris: The 2025 Title Contenders

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

It's time for the third and final bonus episode this week, looking at our 2025 title contenders. Today, we're talking about the man who remains in pole position to secure his first ever Championship - but can Lando Norris do it? Or, more worryingly, can McLaren do it?! Please vote for us in the Autosport Awards 2026! https://www.autosport.com/awards-voting/You can listen to an extended version of every Race Review episode over on our Patreon! You'll also access to every P1 episode ad-free, early access to tickets & merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now: http://patreon.com/mattp1tommyFollow us on socials! You can find us on Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube and TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello everybody and welcome back to the P1 podcast with Matt and Tommy. Thanks for joining us for this third and final championship decided preview series where we've been talking about how we've got to a three-way fight for the title on the final weekend of the season. Make sure you scroll back in your podcast feed to hear our episodes on Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri if you haven't already. Today, we're here to talk about Lando Norris. Let's head to Lando Norris. The championship leader has seven race victories as well. All three of them do.

The victories came in Australia, in Monaco and Austin, in the UK Silverstone, Hungary, Mexico and Brazil. He has 17 podiums to his name this season. And Lando Norris should, in theory, we should be talking about him being world champion right now. If it wasn't to McLaren, we know that. We know that. We've said that many times on the podcast already. But, you know, Lando's season on the face of it has not been the easiest for him. He's had moments where he struggled with the car, with the handling, whereas Oscar was thriving,

especially in that sort of from race, what would you say? Well, as soon as Oscar went on that streak from Bahrain, that was when Lando was just not able to get on the same sort of form as Oscar. overall he has put together a great campaign for sure he's had three no point scores of course one being the disqualification the other two being Canada which was absolutely his fault and zanvort which absolutely wasn't his fault I don't know how Lando each week that McLaren let him down that he just resets what must be going through his head right now yeah how does he have confidence going into the last race. I don't know. Yeah, it's crazy. The season that Lando's had has been so bizarre, really. You know, the story of his season has been Lando essentially winning

in Australia, resisting the pressure from Max while Oscar went off and thinking, oh, look, that's a really good drive from Lando, like he can resist this pressure. And then going into a run where like China, Bahrain, Saudi, he was making mistakes and things. Like Bahrain, he made Samara Saudi, crashed in qualifying, where obviously Oscar won the race. And there was obviously a lot of talk about like, Can Orlando actually do this? He's really struggling now.

And it looked like Oscar was the top, well, was the top McLaren driver. And then, you know, it gets even worse in Canada, where he collides going for a move on his team. mate and thankfully well not for him but thankfully for the team he doesn't take Oscar out the race but then he does go on this

great run and and then it all goes wrong again in Zandvo where you think this is going to be really hard for him to catch Oscar Piastri now in the same car he falls behind in Canada doesn't it and then we question that was the moment

I remember so many people jumping on Oscar's going to be world champion. He's going to do this. You know, Lando's making too many mistakes, yada, yada, yada. Lando then bounces back with the first, first, second, first, just about puts him back in, like, contention with Oscar, and then his engine fails. Yeah, and in Zandvo, the crazy thing is after that,

obviously there's the contentious moment in Monsa. But we then went in Tobacco, and of course, all the headlines were that Oscar had a really, really poor race. But Lando was getting a lot of stick. I guess quite rightly that he didn't make the opportunity, he didn't take that opportunity of his title rival because Max was out of it at this stage, bagging as many points as possible.

He was stuck behind other cars, he wasn't making moves. And then he kind of went into this kind of phase in the next couple of races where he was almost like this silent, like, championship contender where all the talk was, can Oscar hold on, or is Max going to win? and we said that's going to help Lando I think massively and since then you know he's been

brilliant and I think you know his best moments um it's just it's how consistent he has actually been even those races where he gets stick for like finishing second and it's not exciting or or he's not going for moves and stuff points win your championships and I don't think it's on him that he's got the points tally he's got because McLaren have absolutely screwed him in the last last few they screwed him he'd be world champion right now

which I'd like to remind people because I feel it's quite unfair on Lando that he's having to go all the way He's lost so many points

with it yeah he has and McLaren better be getting him a serious Christmas present especially if he doesn't win this world championship somehow

I would be gutted for Lando if that was the case let's go to his best moment of the season what was the standout for Lando where we thought

damn he's got it for me it's been towards the end of the year for sure Brazil was fantastic from him it was such a difficult weekend you had horrible conditions a place that craziness happens and Lando could have easily succumbed to the pressure of having to get this title across the line So Brazil is 100% a vote for me And then Again, I kind of go all the way back to Australia as well As a moment where he took it to Max Verstappen And he won in the rain

I remember there were some mistakes on the way to winning A few things we went, oh, oh, maybe not But he won there and that was kind of a moment of Right, Lando is here to play And he's here to take this potential championship But I think if I'm going to choose one, it has to be Brazil I will go between it's between Mexico and Brazil for me

because I think those are the most impressive victories for me because as we mentioned he'd kind of quietly go under the radar and he was still in that championship fight he didn't have the amazing form that Max did but he was taking

you know points out of Oscar consistently and had a lot more pace than Oscar and then he goes into Mexico and I think it's Mexico he got an amazing start which is something that's been his Achilles heel he didn't worry about and Mexico is a very very difficult track

to basically lead from being on pole position into turn one wins the raise from pole and now it looks like okay he's looking very good then you go into Brazil and yeah Brazil is such a strong moment because there was all this talk of like

it's raining it's Brazil of course Max is going to win And actually, you know, he wins the sprint, he wins the main race, takes pole position, absolutely brilliant form. And after those two wins, all he had to do was score a few points. And he's been disqualified and finished for. And that's, of course, yeah, the team errors that have cost him. But realistically, Brazil should have been that drive where it's like, right, he's won the world championship now. But unfortunately for his team, that's not. been the case.

Maclaren went, nah, we want a title finale. It's fun that way. So thank you McLaren again. Let's go to worst moment of the year for Lando. Tommy, what are you going to lock in? There's a few. Obviously, we mentioned Baku. The funny thing about Baku is that if he wins the title by a few points,

these kind of non-risky moves where everyone said, oh, he's not going for the moves, he's not doing it here. And this is how a Formula One championship plays out, doesn't it? Like these moments where it's like, oh, you miss out for a few points. If you'd overtaken, hey, we'd have done this or would have done that. I think you've got to go back to Saudi, the crash in qualifying. Then he went into the race, and I think he spent a long time unable to pass Charles LeClaire.

Meanwhile, his teammate is just romping home for victory to make it, you know, his third victory of the season. and that was a really low moment for Lando I think just from the fact that his form had really dipped after a brilliant win in Australia and you thought okay he has turned it around and then went back into this kind of error prone driver again obviously he's turned that around now but I think Saudi was probably for me like

the lowest where it's like oh wow Lando's like really struggling with this car he's not finding his groove and of course at that stage Oscar was just flying So my moment for worst event for Lando this year has to be Canada. I think the movie pulled on Oscar was really poor, crashes into the back of his teammate, loses. I think it was a P5. I think it was P5 at the time.

So in terms of point swings, that's 10 points, just lost through a fault that was completely on him. it depends on you package it so that's my error I would say of the year for Lando in terms of worst moment that might not be his fault is Las Vegas

yeah yeah like he did everything he needed to do in Las Vegas to have enough of a championship lead going into the last two rounds on a track they're not that good at either taken away from him exactly

he did absolutely everything and to remove all those points away from him due to a team error is a disaster So that's from that side, but in terms of something for Lando's performance, I would say Canada. Right, what moment could be the thing that costs him the title? I feel like these can sometimes blur the lines between worst moments of the year and the thing that costs him the title.

Las Vegas. If Lando does not win the world championship, it is Las Vegas and it is Qatar. Qatar is obviously a strategic on the go error from my first. McLaren, which I still do not believe that they thought it through at all. Clearly, they didn't because they were the only team not to pit. But Las Vegas is such an error where you got, obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing. But why are they risking it anyway? Like, there's clearly been an oversight there from McLaren and how they look at the cars and the, all the telemetry they get. They know the load that is being put through the car. They can see the

cameras, they can see the sparks, why are they risking it at all? Even if they finish fourth and fifth, fifth and sixth in Vegas and lose all the pace by running the car a bit higher to not run the risk of being disqualified, it doesn't matter. Lando has a much bigger gap going into the last two races. So, Las Vegas will be my answer. Yeah, there'll be people, the Lando Norris crew of like just hating on him for every single reason unfairly saying like oh you know he lost points here lost points there but realistically you know let's say like Canada for example but realistically you know it's had the engine failure where that's a McLaren failure on him Vegas the failure by McLaren and then Qatar again where you know he's finishing third so it's not going to be a huge points difference in Qatar really but obviously it's still a few points through a McLaren blunder it's got to be you know the failure in Zanvort to have a mechanical failure when you're running P2 is big in a championship fight and Vegas because yeah it has to be Vegas if they

lose this title it's that is the that will be if they lose this title unless they do something again in Abu Dhabi the 2007 Lewis Hamilton and kind of why have they left him out on the canvas of his tyres when all he had to do was cruise home to a P5 and win the championship. And equally, Lando had the championship won at Brazil. And the only reason that could have brought Max in is if he won the race and he got a no score.

And Lando finished second on the road at a track that McLarenot particularly good at, drove a great race, brilliant pole position in the wet, and bagged 18 points, and then they were taken away through an error. So, yeah, I think at the end of the day, Max, of course, like, I want Max to win. Really?

Being a Maxxapan fan, shock. But what I just want to say, like, it would be absolutely devastating, like, Philando to lose it by another McLaren error again. Because, you know, wherever your allegiances lie, to have, like, pretty much, the title won, like same as like Lewis Hamilton, like 2007 and stuff, and have that, that title one, to lose it through no fault of your own would be an

absolute, you know, kicking the nuts to say the least. Like it would be awful. It would be awful. It would be, it would feel, yeah, terrible for Lando and that's not how we want to see this championship play out because I think it will leave, I mean, probably not for you a bitter taste, Tommy, but it will. in some ways when you analyse the last few races you'd feel like Lando was

kind of robbed of a championship that was going to be his and he's lost it through no fault of his own. But fingers crossed, McLean, sort it all out. They do a one-two, for their sake, of course, not for entertainment's sake. And then the championship isn't questioned as to who deserved it, who didn't deserve it,

etc, etc. Although that conversation was done. Unless Lando wins a title by five points and then the Oscar Piazriamon's Switch will be World War III in the media. As long as, as well, Oscar would have to finish five points behind, wouldn't he, rather than... That's what I said five. Yeah, you said to win by five, but obviously from Oscar Piastra as opposed to Max Verstappen,

who is the closest competitor to Tommy. I know your glass half empty, mate. He is second in the championship. Right, well, speaking of percentage, if you can do maths, we'll find out if Tommy can. I can't. My likelihood for Landon Norris winning the World Championship in Abu Dhabi is 65%. the reason why it's no higher than that is because I don't trust McLaren as far as I can throw them right now and if Lando has a working team that does everything he needs them to do in Abu Dhabi

it would probably be up at 90% but this is factoring in everything 65% and mine is almost 90% 85% if I've done the maths correctly yeah 5 plus 10 is 15 yeah good stuff uh look it's in his hand still it was in his hands and this is the only reason it's not 100% is it was in his hands in Vegas it was in his hands in Qatar and yeah it's changed completely of course and it can only really be

a McLaren failure that could do something to stop him winning this title in my opinion because failure of the car or operationally yeah operationally because the reason I think it's so low as well is like Abu Dhabi is a track where like you know you make an error

you're just going off into the runoff um so it will take something crazy from you know McLaren maybe or something for it to go wrong for Lando because it's his best one of his best uh maybe even his best on the calendar along with austria um in terms of like his performances there and obviously he was brilliant there last year one comfortably uh and drove so well so yeah uh surely got to be Lando's but this season has thrown so many kerb balls which is why it's not 100%. Exactly. Lando's results at Abu Dhabi are 8th, 5th, 7th, 5th, 5th 1st. Of course, didn't have a championship winning car for a lot of those times. But that is the record he has. Will he have

another win to his name? He won't care as long as he wins the World Championship. And that is it. Thank you everybody for tuning in to this little special bonus. episode chatting about the three title protagonists will it be oscar piastri will it be max vastappan or will it be lando norris who takes home the 2025 formula one world championship tommy final thoughts final thoughts i just can't believe we're in this situation with three drivers winning the title um well thank god sorry being in the title my brain is is three two people they've all They've all won it. Just take it all. They can have a third of the trophy each. That's what McLaren would like, wouldn't they really?

Just give it to both their drivers, then they don't have to have a worry and Max because they also want, yeah, they want Max to have it as well. Give it to Max so then neither of them have anything. Then that is fair. That is fair. Yeah, true. Yeah, okay, yeah. Come on Max. Come on, McLaren. There's one more in you. Thank you, everybody, for joining us across these three episodes. We'll be back with the final predictions episode of the season. Another championship battle that has somehow gone right down to the wire.

See you then.