Piastri is 'mentally ahead' of Norris in the race for the title - Ralf

      "He's assertive in his commentary."

      21 September 2025 - 12:44

      Ralf Schumacher has predicted that Oscar Piastri will be the stronger contender for McLaren in this year's world championship contest. The German stated in an interview with T-Online that the 24-year-old Australian is having "an extremely strong, extremely consistent year" with very few errors. "Mentally, he seems to be ahead at this moment," Schumacher noted. "Especially when you consider that this is only his third year in Formula 1, he’s further progressed than Lando."

      "Last year, his main weakness was his race pace, but he has clearly worked hard to improve that significantly. Additionally, he is handling the pressure of leading the drivers’ standings at such a young age quite calmly." In contrast, Schumacher views Lando Norris—who is 31 points behind, partly due to his DNF at Zandvoort—as less confident. "I feel that he doesn’t always make the best decisions when it comes to overtaking, particularly in comparison to Oscar or Max Verstappen," he explained. "He often takes too long to get close enough to overtake, and sometimes even fails two or three times. That’s a significant weakness. Also, he has mentioned that he’s not always as mentally strong, which has been evident in his qualifying results."

      "However, I must mention that he did not make any errors during the qualifying for the Italian GP despite the high level of competition." Nonetheless, Ralf believes Piastri’s assertiveness is an additional benefit. "He’s assertive in his commentary, even in his radio communications during races, and knows how to apply pressure," he remarked. "For instance, when he states, ‘Actually, I’m faster than him,’ and similar comments, he is quite skilled at these psychological tactics. It’s a vital aspect of his strategy."

      On the other hand, Norris has claimed he can be a "nice" world champion, but Schumacher remains doubtful. "Let me put it this way—you need to know what you want and exhibit a certain level of determination," said the 50-year-old former grand prix winner. "It's possible to race aggressively while still being fair. Max Verstappen epitomizes this, as he is a fair world champion and a true veteran. Compared to him and Piastri, Norris understandably has a harder time. This year, he’s fortunate that his car is performing very well, but at the same time, he’s unfortunate that his teammate is also performing at a high level."