Lando Norris labelled a “weak person” by a former F1 champion

Former Australian racing star Alan Jones has criticised Lando Norris as “mentally weak”, saying he is “coming out with nonsense” to justify his poor start to the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Norris was initially considered the favourite for this year’s drivers’ championship, with a victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix giving him an early advantage over the competition.

However, the pendulum at McLaren has quickly shifted in the last few races, with Oscar Piastri’s third victory of 2025 in Saudi Arabia giving him a 10-point lead in the standings.

Norris’s 2025 campaign has been hamstrung by a series of errors in qualifying and races, with even the Briton admitting to his frustration publicly in public.

After a tough showing in Bahrain, Norris commented “I feel like I've never driven an F1 car”, while he cut a similarly dejected figure in Jeddah last month.

Jones, who remains the last Australian driver to win an F1 title, feels Norris’ recent comments show he lacks the mental strength to succeed in grand prix racing.

This, he believes, puts Piastri in a prime position in the championship fight.

“The first person you’ve got to beat is your teammate,” Jones told Fox Sports Australia.

“He [Piastri] can do it [win the F1 title] this year, no question. At the end of the day, his teammate is weak.

“His teammate is quite quick, there’s no doubt about that. But mentally, I think he’s quite a weak person. He’s coming out with all this nonsense that he’s got a bit of a mental thing, he’s dwelling on some of the problems he’s had rather than the positives.

“When they start talking all that nonsense, you know you’ve got them.”

Piastri is currently in his third season in F1 but with five grand prix wins he has already equalled the tally of his more experienced teammate Norris, who made his debut in 2019.

Ex-Williams ace Jones sang praises for his countryman Piastri, saying he can capitalise on Norris’ weaknesses and emerge as the top dog in the 2025 season.

“Oscar is a pretty strong-minded young kid. I love him,” the 78-year-old said.

“He doesn’t show off, he doesn’t dance all over the place. He’s just a strong individual and that’s exactly what we need to get the job done.

“He’s got an old head on young shoulders. He’s very, very mature. He’s very laid back. He’s not easily ruffled, whereas I think his teammate is a little bit the opposite way.

“I think the teammate could be blown out quite easily and I think Oscar will take advantage of that. He’s got the brains and the strength to do that. He’s very laid back, he doesn't say much and he gets on with it, which I love.

“Out of the car, he’s quiet, but when he gets in the car he grows horns and that’s what you want.”

He added: “He is without a doubt a future world champion. He’s come out of almost nowhere and he’s got all the attributes that you need to be a world champion.”