Piastri, not Norris, is Verstappen’s real rival – Danner

Former F1 driver Christian Danner believes Oscar Piastri, rather than his arguably marginally quicker McLaren teammate Lando Norris, is the driver Max Verstappen should fear most in the 2025 championship battle.

Former F1 driver Christian Danner believes Oscar Piastri, rather than his arguably marginally quicker McLaren teammate Lando Norris, is the driver Max Verstappen should fear most in the 2025 championship battle.

Verstappen has clinched the last four world titles, but McLaren has dominated 2025 with a superior car, placing its drivers first and second in the standings.

Norris held the championship lead early in the season, but Piastri’s remarkable run of four victories in the last five races has propelled the young Australian to the top of the points table.

Danner told sport.de that Norris may have a slight edge in raw speed, noting: “He’s probably a tiny bit faster than Piastri in terms of speed.”

However, Danner highlighted Norris’ ongoing errors, stating: “He still makes the kind of mistakes that Piastri seems to have already overcome. That doesn’t mean Norris can’t overcome them too, but things aren’t going smoothly for him at the moment.”

Despite Verstappen’s struggle to match McLaren’s pace, Danner cautioned against underestimating the Dutchman. He emphasised that of the McLaren duo, Piastri poses the greater threat.

“He’s a really big problem for Verstappen,” Danner said. “Max knows full well – Piastri is a tough guy.”