Pundit claims Lando Norris is lucky that his deficit to Oscar Piastri is just 9 points

F1 pundit Jolyon Palmer feels Lando Norris has been very lucky to just be 9 points behind Oscar Piastri at the summer break mark, and the gap could be as big as 61 points. The 2025 F1 season has been an interesting one, where we've seen how McLaren has separated itself from the chasing pack.

The car is not only fast, but it is versatile as well, and as a result, we only have the duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in title contention. At the midway point of the season, the two are separated by just 9 points, with the Australian ahead of the Brit.

In terms of all their head-to-heads, the two are very evenly matched when it comes to the number of pole positions and wins achieved by either of them.

Jolyon Palmer, however, feels that the only reason Lando Norris is hanging on to Oscar Piastri is the fact that the British driver has been very lucky. Talking about the duo on the F1 Nation Podcast about the title battle, Palmer said,

"What I've been thinking is Piastri's been the better driver. And we're talking about the fine margins: nine points, Lando winning three of the last four. But on pretty much all stats and viewing, Piastri has been the better driver so far. And I looked through and I think that championship lead is nine points - could easily be 61 points but for largely a bit of luck."

Palmer lists how Lando Norris has been lucky compared to Oscar Piastri

Looking back at the season, the former F1 driver pointed out races in Australia, Imola, Silverstone, and others where Oscar Piastri lost a lot of points and was unlucky in those circumstances. Lando Norris, on the other hand, was a benefactor in all of them, and it helped him close the gap to his teammate.

So much so that in the last 4 races, he's picked up 3 wins. Talking about how luck has played a part in the championship battle, Palmer said,

"I'm thinking there's 16 points lost in Melbourne. Both McLarens go skittling off through the gravel. Oscar's is slightly more than Lando's, but really these, you know, you can't judge this. And it cost Oscar on the day 16 points. I'm thinking Silverstone: tough decision, it cost Oscar the win."

He added,

"Imola, the timing of the safety car. It cost him at the time only six points in terms of a swing. And then you've got Budapest. A great win for Lando. Absorbed the pressure, did what he had to do, but he did it because he had a bad start, was in the wrong position, and then sort of got into the right strategy that Oscar wasn't given. When you look at all those points lost, there's been a lot of things that have just gone towards Lando in these first 14 races."

The battle between the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri recommences at Zandvoort this weekend, and it would be interesting to see which driver comes out on top in the first race since the summer break.