Rosberg: “Norris is Championship favourite, but…” – Lando Norris: The favourite for the 2025 F1 title, but challenges ahead – As the dust settles on the 2024 Formula One season, the focus has already shifted to the contenders for the 2025 championship. Among the voices weighing in on the upcoming battle is 2016 World Champion Nico Rosberg, who has named McLaren’s Lando Norris as the favourite.
However, Rosberg has also highlighted areas where Norris needs to improve in order to clinch the title. In a candid discussion on the *Sky Sports F1* podcast, the former Mercedes driver assessed the current grid, praising Norris for his impressive speed but warning of the pitfalls that could undermine his campaign.
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Norris’ speed: “Phenomenal and world class”
Rosberg began by praising Norris’ raw speed, saying that the McLaren driver had proven himself capable of matching Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the three-time world champion and perennial title favourite.
“Lando Norris is the favourite for next year,” said Rosberg, expressing confidence in the Briton’s potential.
“He has shown very good speed, which can even keep up with Max Verstappen. So the sheer speed is there. It is very, very phenomenal and world class.”
That is no small compliment coming from Rosberg, who battled and ultimately triumphed over Lewis Hamilton during his championship-winning season. But while speed will be a crucial factor, Rosberg hinted that other elements of Norris’ performance could pose a challenge.
“We know what happened with Verstappen in 2021”
Confronting “inner demons”
Rosberg didn’t hold back when discussing Norris’ mental game, highlighting the psychological pressures that often lead to mistakes on track.
“He has some inner demons in his head that lead to one or two mistakes,” said the German, citing the Singapore Grand Prix as a prime example.
In that race Norris almost lost a commanding lead with two laps of carelessness.
The former World Champion emphasised that these mistakes could prove costly in a championship fight. In Formula One, where fractions of a second often determine the outcome, mistakes – no matter how small – can be the difference between victory and defeat.
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Learning from Piastri
Rosberg also drew a comparison between Norris and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who impressed during his rookie season. While Norris consistently outpaced the Australian in qualifying and the race, Rosberg praised Piastri for his level-headed consistency.
“Norris needs to work on reducing one or two mistakes, because that is an area where Oscar Piastri is stronger,” Rosberg noted. He praised Piastri’s ability to keep a cool head under pressure, a trait that allowed the rookie to shine in high-stakes scenarios.
Although Norris has the edge in terms of sheer speed, the former champion stressed that improving mental strength and minimising mistakes will be crucial if he is to outperform both his team-mate and the rest of the grid.
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McLaren’s advantage
Rosberg’s confidence in Norris isn’t based solely on the Briton’s ability. McLaren’s resurgence in 2024 has established them as the team to beat ahead of 2025.
“There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be the favourite, because at the end of this year McLaren was the strongest car,” explained Rosberg.
“He [Norris] was a bit stronger than Piastri, so he should be the favourite.”
The development of McLaren’s 2024 car has been remarkable, transforming a mid-tier contender into a race-winning machine. Norris capitalised on the team’s performance upturn, securing several wins and pushing Verstappen out of his comfort zone.
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Verstappen: The unlikely underdog
The shift in dynamics at the top of the grid also played a part in Rosberg’s analysis. While Verstappen remains one of the most formidable talents in the sport, Red Bull’s performance slump in the second half of 2024 has raised questions about their ability to regain their dominance.
“Verstappen doesn’t have the fastest car,” said Rosberg.
“He’s won two races since May – that’s crazy. You’re not going to win the championship next year against a Lando Norris in this form.”
Red Bull’s struggles, particularly with aerodynamic updates that have failed to deliver the desired results, have left the team vulnerable. Unless they regain their competitive edge, Verstappen could be playing catch-up by 2025.
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Norris – The pressure of being the favourite
Rosberg concluded with a word of caution for Norris: being labelled the favourite comes with its own challenges.
“He must not make the mistake of putting so much pressure on himself that he says: ‘I’m the favourite, anything other than winning is a failure’,” Rosberg warned.
The mental strain of high expectations has derailed many a promising campaign in the past, and Norris will need to manage this pressure effectively if he is to succeed.
As the 2025 season approaches, the stage is set for an intense title battle. With McLaren providing a competitive car and Norris displaying world-class speed, the Briton has a real chance of clinching his first championship.
However, as Rosberg aptly pointed out, success in F1 is about more than just speed. Managing mental pressure, avoiding costly mistakes and capitalising on team strengths will be crucial in what promises to be one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory.
Whether Norris can rise to the occasion and fulfil his potential remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the battle for the 2025 F1 World Championship will be one for the ages.
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Much has been made of the latest epic F1 duelling pair of drivers which have filled our screens across the 2024 Formula One season. Some believe Max Verstappen and Lando Norris are set to give us an era where the fierce on track battles resemble that of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.
Despite Verstappen winning four of the first six races, the signs were already there that McLaren had a fast car. Having won his maiden F1 race of his career in Miami, next time out Lando Norris was to experience a Max ‘wonder lap’ in Emilia-Romagne qualifying which saw him start the race in second place.
The world champion made a good start to the Grand Prix taking the lead at the first corner and on a track which is questionable suitable for the huge modern F1 cars, Max retained his lead throughout the race. That said a rampant Norris over the closing 15 laps slashed the 6 second lead to finish just 0.75s behind the winning Red Bull driver…READ MORE ON THIS STORY
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