Lando Norris “just very in control” amid great start to 2025 season, as per McLaren boss

Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, has spoken out about the strong performance of his driver, Lando Norris, during the first races of the 2025 F1 season. Norris has so far scored a win and a second-place finish during the opening two races this year, which Brown attributes to being in command of the car and not succumbing to pressure. The McLaren boss specifically lauded the performance of the British driver during the opening Grand Prix of the season, which took place in Melbourne, Australia.

Although, Brown had good things to say about both the McLaren drivers, which includes Norris' teammate Oscar Piastri, the CEO highlighted the more experienced of the two's race performance. He said (via Motorsportweek):

"[J]ust kind of the way [Norris is] carrying himself. In Australia he felt very in control."

Discussing the pressure he recieved from his teammate and defending champion Max Verstappen in Australia, Brown believes that Norris' skill and his work with the team was commendable. He added:

“Lots of pressure on you when you’ve got your teammate and Max [Verstappen] in your DRS when you have those conditions, and I think there were three or four restarts.

“He was just very in control. The team was great. He knew what he wanted. He knew when to listen and just felt like a very mature drive in what were very tricky conditions.”

In Australia, Lando Norris qualified in pole position and maintained it by the end of the race, finishing 0.895s ahead of Verstappen who crossed the line to take a runner-up finish. While Oscar Piastri qualified in second, by the end of the race he had finished ninth.

The following week in Shanghai, Norris started sixth in the Saturday Sprint race and finished in eighth. For the race on Sunday, the 25-year-old qualified in third but finished the race in second place, with Piastri scoring his first victory of the season.

Currently, Lando Norris leads the drivers' championship, having accumulated 44 points over the first two race weekends.

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"We help each other out" - Lando Norris discusses dynamic with Oscar Piastri that serves to benefit McLaren

Oscar Piastri (L) and Lando Norris (R) celebrate a McLaren 1-2 finish during the F1 Grand Prix of China at Shanghai International Circuit on March 22, 2025. - Source: Getty

Last week, Lando Norris discussed the relationship he has with his teammate, Oscar Piastri, on-track. Speaking after the Grand Prix in Shanghai, where the McLaren drivers ended up taking a 1-2 finish, Norris revealed that despite him and Piastri competing with each other to be the best, there is also a sense of helping each other so that they can provide the best result for the team. He said (via Motorsportweek):

"We’re two competitors who both want to win. But we help each other out. I think we both achieved something better this weekend because of that fact. And we’ll continue to do that."

The Brit also highlighted that while the Woking-based operation is always working on trying to make the car faster, the dynamic between the two drivers is also key to success.

“Other teams have talked about upgrades and stuff already and they can catch up quicker than you think, just like we did last year. So as much as we’re doing that, we also have to think as a team and keep pushing the team forward from that side.”

The next race on the F1 calendar is the Japanese Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend starting with the first practice session on April 4 and ending with the race on April 6.