Former world champion slams Norris as ‘mentally weak’, backs Oscar Piastri for 2025 title – The battle for supremacy in Formula One is heating up for the 2025 season, and while most eyes are focused on the high speed drama unfolding between McLaren’s young stars and reigning champion Max Verstappen, one former great has decided to turn the spotlight on a very different angle – psychological toughness.
In a surprisingly blunt and personal critique, 1980 World Champion Alan Jones has publicly called out Lando Norris, questioning the Briton’s mental strength and declaring his support for fellow Australian Oscar Piastri as the more promising title contender.
It’s a stinging assessment that comes as McLaren find themselves in a position they haven’t enjoyed for over a decade – right at the front of the field, genuinely challenging for both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. But for Jones, the intricacies go beyond lap times and podium finishes. For him, the title race isn’t just a battle of machines and racing skills – it’s a test of character. And that is where he believes Norris is falling short.
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Changing of the guard at McLaren
McLaren’s rise to the top in 2025 has been nothing short of spectacular. After an impressive season in 2024 that saw the team win the Constructors’ title, the Woking outfit have returned even stronger this year with a car capable of challenging Red Bull and Ferrari on equal terms. With Verstappen continuing to perform at a high level in the RB21, the most consistent threat to his reign has come not from within Red Bull, but from McLaren’s own garage.
Both Norris and Piastri have put in a series of strong performances at the start of the season.
Piastri, in particular, has demonstrated calm precision and race-winning speed, earning praise from analysts and fans alike. Norris, while equally fast, has attracted attention for different reasons. The 25-year-old has been unusually open about his mental health and emotional struggles in recent interviews – a level of candour that has earned him the admiration of many, but the scorn of others, including Alan Jones.
Jones declares: “Norris is weak”
In a candid interview with Fox Sports, Alan Jones made no attempt to tone down his rhetoric. When asked about Oscar Piastri’s title prospects, Jones expressed full confidence in his fellow Australian.
“Oscar could win the title this year, no question about it,” said Jones. “The first person you have to beat is your teammate, and I think Piastri is up to the task.”
When the subject turned to Lando Norris, however, Jones’ tone became decidedly more critical.
“At the end of the day, his team-mate is weak,” he said flatly.
The comment wasn’t just a reference to Norris’ on-track performance. Jones went further, delving into the psychological aspect of Norris’ persona – a topic that has become increasingly relevant in a sport where discussions about mental health are becoming more commonplace.
“His team-mate is pretty fast, there’s no doubt about that,” Jones admitted. “But mentally I think he’s a pretty weak person. He talks all this nonsense about having some kind of mental problem and he tends to focus on the problems he’s had rather than the positives.”
Jones even suggested that Norris’s emotional transparency was a sign of vulnerability that competitors could exploit.
“When they start talking nonsense like that, you know you’ve got them,” he added with a grin.
A divisive view in a changing sport
Jones’ comments have provoked an immediate backlash from those who believe that F1 needs to move with the times. In recent years, several drivers – including Norris – have spoken out about the mental challenges they face in one of the world’s most demanding sports. This willingness to discuss mental health issues has been widely praised as a step towards breaking long-standing stigmas within the sport.
Norris, who started racing in F1 in 2019, has been vocal about the pressures that come with the spotlight and the emotional toll of high-stakes racing. He’s spoken about his struggles with anxiety, self-doubt and intense media and fan scrutiny – issues that many younger fans find relatable and important.
However, as Jones’ comments show, not everyone in the paddock is ready to embrace this more open version of the modern F1 driver. For old-school figures like Jones, resilience is measured by stoicism, and any public admission of emotional difficulties is seen as a sign of weakness rather than maturity or honesty.
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Jones backs Piastri: “He has all the qualities”
In contrast to his scathing criticism of Norris, Jones had nothing but praise for Oscar Piastri, who joined the F1 grid in 2023 and has quickly made a name for himself as a calm, precise and clinical driver. By 2025, he’s emerged as one of the main threats to Verstappen’s championship dominance.
“He’s come almost out of nowhere and he has all the qualities to be a world champion,” said Jones. “He’s smart, he’s measured and he doesn’t get caught up in the off-track drama. He just goes about his business and gets the results.”
So far this season Piastri has lived up to the praise. He’s won several races, consistently finished on the podium and appears to be in control under pressure – qualities that have endeared him not only to the fans but also to the veteran voices of the sport.
Jones’ endorsement of Piastri could also be seen as a patriotic nod, with the former champion clearly proud to see another Australian challenging at the top of the sport, something that hasn’t happened since the days of Mark Webber and, before him, Jones himself.
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Norris: Honest but controversial
As for Norris, the Briton remains a central figure in the championship battle for 2025 thus far. Although slightly behind Piastri in the standings, he remains within striking distance and has shown flashes of brilliance since the start of the 2025 season. Daring overtakes, qualifying pace and chemistry with the McLaren team will mean he’s almost guaranteed to be back in the hunt for P1 in the championship after losing it to Piastri during the last Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia.
But as Jones’ comments show, perceptions of Norris are mixed. Some see his emotional openness as refreshing and courageous – a sign that the sport is moving into a more human era. Others, like Jones, interpret it as a lack of the ruthless edge needed to become a world champion.
It’s a dilemma that is likely to remain at the heart of Norris’ story this year: can a rider be emotionally open and still possess the killer instinct needed to win it all?
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The road ahead
The 2025 season is still unfolding, and with the tight battle between McLaren and Red Bull showing no signs of easing, both Norris and Piastri will have plenty of opportunities to prove their mettle. Verstappen, now a four-time world champion, remains a formidable presence, but the McLaren duo have so far been able to match him step for step.
Whether Norris can silence his critics – including those as outspoken as Alan Jones – will depend not just on his lap times, but on how he handles the psychological warfare that comes with a title challenge. For Piastri the path seems clearer: stay consistent, stay focused and keep doing what he’s been doing.
But make no mistake – the rivalry within McLaren could end up being the defining story of the season. And with legends of the past weighing in from the sidelines, the pressure is only increasing.
The question remains: will Lando Norris rise above the noise, or will Jones’ cutting words prove prophetic at the end of the season?
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The inaugural Miami Grand Prix was a tipping point moment for modern Formula One as it became the second F1 race to be held in the annually in the USA on a long term basis. Of course ‘cracking the US’ was a long term ambition of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone yet in F1’s halcyon days there were occasions when one off events saw F1 visit the US three times a year.
Back in the 1970’s there was regularly two events held annually when the calendar consisted of just around fourteen rounds each year. The US Grand Prix west was held in Long Beach, Los Angeles while the US Grand Prix west featured at the much loved Watkins Glen circuit in the finger lakes region of New York State.
In 1982 there were in fact three F1 races held in the states, with races being held at Long Beach, Detroit and Las Vegas. The in 1984 F1 held a race in Dallas, Texas which delivered the iconic image of an exhausted Nigel Mansell pushing his lotus across the finishing line after suffering gearbox failure in the searing heat on the final lap of the race…. READ MORE ON THIS STORY
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