Lando Norris has been almost unrecognizable since his retirement at Zandvoort—while Oscar Piastri is showing nerves, Norris is doing everything right, according to Oleg Karpow.
Lando Norris has faced a lot of criticism this season for dropping points and failing to capitalize on his rivals’ mistakes.
Canada immediately springs to mind, where a misjudgment led to a collision with Oscar Piastri and a retirement – as does the sprint qualifying in China, where a mistake on his final attempt cost him dearly.
Recently, however, Norris has been showing himself to be stronger than ever. In Baku, he didn’t make much progress against Piastri, but one could argue that it was wise not to take any unnecessary risks.
An overzealous maneuver in the battle against his teammate could easily have ended in another retirement; playing it safe was probably the right decision.
Since his retirement at the Dutch Grand Prix, he has clearly been the stronger McLaren driver—and has scored more points than his teammate, who just a few weeks ago was considered the only serious title rival.
After a disappointing qualifying session in Singapore, he made the most of the race and seized the only realistic opportunity on the first lap when he overtook Piastri – a maneuver that deserved applause rather than discussions about “consequences.” That’s exactly what you want to see from a title contender – and it’s absurd that he now appears to be being punished for it.
It was the same story in Austin: McLaren was a little too cautious with its strategy and started on medium tires instead of softs. Nevertheless, Norris got almost the maximum out of the situation.
Turning point in Zandvoort: The old Norris is back
Some say he should have attacked Charles Leclerc more aggressively at the start, but his risk management in this duel was almost perfect. Racing against someone who has less to lose is tricky. Norris did well and seized his chance when it presented itself.
Perhaps that is precisely the key that he has been missing so far: a little more margin for error, which he could have used in China and Canada.
Norris is currently 14 points behind Piastri in the overall standings. With five races remaining, the recipe is simple: keep going. Verstappen is breathing down his neck, but he too needs a near-perfect run until the end of the season—and McLaren should be stronger on some of the upcoming tracks.
Ironically, the retirement at Zandvoort may even have helped Norris refocus, while Piastri, with a large points cushion, has seemed less confident since then. Both remain serious title contenders, but recent impressions suggest that Norris knows exactly what he is doing.