Will Piastri and Norris lose out to Verstappen by taking points off each other?

When it comes to Formula 1 driver line-ups, top teams are always faced with a dilemma.

Is it better to have a clear number one driver who will lead the squad’s effort, or two competitive racers who may bring out the best in each other but also occasionally compete for the same positions and therefore lose points to one another – on top of which fierce rivalries, as scarce as they may be nowadays, can be damaging to an outfit’s prospects.

It’s easy to picture this dilemma in a potential title race for 2025, as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen takes on McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Verstappen hasn’t been matched in pace (or any major metric) by a team-mate since Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull in 2018. Teamed up with Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon and Sergio Perez, Verstappen has scored 2353.5 points over the past six seasons; his partners racked up only 1176 points – 33% of the team’s total.

Meanwhile, Piastri was significantly more competitive in his sophomore F1 campaign than in his maiden year, claiming two grand prix wins and recording top-eight results in all but two Sunday races, which contributed to McLaren’s 2024 constructors’ title.

In contrast, Red Bull’s Perez failed to finish any of the last 18 grands prix in the top five, the veteran’s form so miserable that he was replaced by 23-year-old Liam Lawson for 2025.

According to Piastri, what matters is a healthy working relationship between McLaren’s drivers. “It is obviously a different dynamic,” the Australian comments.

“I think Liam will do a good job. Obviously, famously we know how strong Max is but I think there’s other advantages that come with having a strong team-mate. In terms of being able to learn from one another, that is a very big help for both of us in trying to become faster.

“You obviously can’t measure the gain that each of us have had from having a strong team-mate next to each other, but I think there is a genuine lap time gain for both of us learning from each other.

“But yes, that obviously has its downsides in some situations as well. In my opinion I think it outweighs that, and naturally if you become world champion you’re going to be worthy no matter who your team-mate is.”

How many points did Verstappen and Norris actually lose to their team-mates in 2024?

Perez had no real impact on Verstappen’s point-scoring during 2024 campaign

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

A first interesting – though not completely representative – metric is Red Bull’s top car in each grand prix (i.e. Verstappen’s in all but one) scoring 447 points, when McLaren’s scored 450 with Piastri its most productive driver in eight out of 24 rounds.

Obviously, this is not just about drivers taking points off each other but also the fact they sometimes fail to maximise their car’s potential, an area where Verstappen is known to excel. It’s also crucial to look at drivers’ direct impacts on their rivals’ tallies.

Delving deeper into the data, Piastri took 23 points off Norris over the whole season – far from enough to cover the Briton’s 63-point deficit on Verstappen, especially as the Australian also deprived the champion of 15 points.

Perez, on the other hand, lost Norris eight points, inclusive of his pitstop-induced fastest lap at Spa-Francorchamps (and he didn’t cost Verstappen any over the whole season).

How will Lawson do? His level of performance against Yuki Tsunoda at RB was encouraging, but he isn’t expected to match Verstappen’s speed and consistency. He proved he wasn’t afraid to race hard, even wheel to wheel with Perez’s Red Bull on the Mexican’s home turf, but then he was proving a point (though he wouldn’t admit it) against the driver whose seat he was vying for. With his future secure, he won’t need to be so robust against Verstappen – but can be expected to give the McLarens a hard time.

“Yes, potentially in terms of not taking points off each other that is a bit easier for Max, but you never know – Liam could come out and surprise us all,” Piastri adds. “I know how strong Liam is, I’ve raced against him for a number of years, but there are disadvantages and advantages, no matter what the situation is in that scenario.”

Five years on from the 2020 Formula 3 title race, the stakes will be much higher for both Oceanian drivers this time around.