Lando Norris has “got into his own head” and is “stepping backwards” in F1 title race
“I don’t think Oscar Piastri has got into Lando Norris’s head, I think Lando got into his own head.”
F1 legend Jacques Villeneuve believes Lando Norris still has the edge over Oscar Piastri in pace - but the British driver has “got into his own head”.
Norris has endured an error-strewn start to the 2025 F1 season.
Norris hasn’t won since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Teammate Piastri has won four of the subsequent five races following Melbourne to take the lead of the F1 drivers’ championship.
Heading into this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Piastri is 16 points ahead of his teammate.
Assessing the F1 title battle, Villeneuve feels that while Norris is still quicker, Piastri is more composed and has made a “small step” relative to last year.
“I don’t think Oscar Piastri has got into Lando Norris’s head, I think Lando got into his own head,” Villeneuve told Vision4Sport.
“Lando came in as an underdog last year who was not supposed to win and not supposed to fight for the championship. That was easy. There was no pressure. Then it just builds up. This year he spent the whole winter thinking, ‘OK, this will be my big shot. It’s next year or never.’
“Lando started the season with a different kind of weight on his shoulders and he hasn’t coped well with that because he’s still super quick, but there’s the odd moment that is so costly in the championship.
“He’s generally quicker than Piastri, but the points are not there. There are just too many small mistakes and with the field so close, it means you lose more than one position, you lose maybe five spots. That’s a lot of points.
“Lando always seems to be on the back foot. Piastri looks and feels like he belongs there. He is there to fight.
“I don’t think has changed that much. I think it’s more that it has collapsed around him and he’s just stayed focused and cold. Maybe he has taken a small step. But that small step is getting bigger with the other one. Lando Norris is stepping backwards. It is making a big difference.”
Is Imola a must-win for Norris?
With Piastri winning four of the last five races, Norris will be desperate to stop his teammate’s momentum.
Imola has been a happy hunting ground for Norris over the years.
He finished on the podium in 2021 with a fine drive to third.
It was a similar story in 2022, finishing third - the only driver outside the top three teams to finish on the rostrum.
He pushed Max Verstappen hard for the win in 2024, but the Dutchman ultimately came out on top.
With a sharp eye for F1’s controversies and storylines, Connor is the heartbeat of our unbiased reporting.
