Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are both heading into the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a shot at the title, but only one of them can end McLaren’s long wait since their last championship in 2008.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both head into the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a chance of becoming world champion, but only one of them can deliver McLaren’s first drivers’ title since 2008.
Norris arrives as the favourite, sitting on 408 points and holding a 12-point advantage over Max Verstappen and a 16-point lead over his McLaren teammate. With Norris only needing a podium finish to secure the title, McLaren have confirmed that team orders will be used if required, ending their policy of treating both drivers equally late in the season.
Nico Rosberg warns Oscar Piastri over McLaren backing Lando Norris
McLaren resisted issuing team orders for most of the 2025 campaign, as Zak Brown and Andrea Stella initially wanted both Norris and Piastri to fight freely for the championship. However, widespread paddock speculation has suggested that Norris has been subtly prioritised as the season progressed.
Nico Rosberg now claims he has also picked up on that narrative ahead of the Abu Dhabi decider. Speaking to Sky Sports News, the 2016 world champion suggested there is a growing sense inside McLaren that many are hoping to see Norris crowned champion.
Rosberg said Piastri finds himself in an extremely difficult psychological position, having led the championship for much of the season before Norris mounted his comeback. He added that with McLaren being a British team — and Norris also being a clear fan favourite — it can feel as though the internal momentum is naturally leaning toward the Briton. According to Rosberg, this can easily lead a driver like Piastri to question whether key moments in the season were influenced by team preference, a mindset that “won’t help” him moving forward.
Nico Rosberg praises Lando Norris’ ‘super impressive’ 2025 improvement
Despite the background noise around team favouritism, Rosberg was quick to credit Norris for the progress he has made throughout the year. Norris’ 2025 campaign included a number of costly qualifying errors earlier in the season in races such as China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Qatar.
Rosberg believes it was those weaknesses that initially allowed Piastri to assert himself in the title fight. However, he says Norris responded by refocusing, tightening up his execution and significantly cutting down his mistakes as the pressure increased.
As the title showdown now reaches its climax in Abu Dhabi, Rosberg feels Norris’ personal development has been one of the defining stories of the season. While the political and emotional dynamics inside McLaren remain complex, he insists that Norris’ surge back into championship contention has been fully earned through his own performance gains.
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