McLaren likely shifting title focus to Piastri, says Schumacher

McLaren may have quietly decided to back Oscar Piastri as their best shot at the 2025 world championship, according to a growing chorus of paddock voices.

Despite appearing faster than his teammate through the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, Lando Norris crashed out after rear-ending Piastri - a disastrous blow to his title hopes and a major boost to Piastri’s momentum.

"Norris is fast, but he's getting in his own way," said former Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost to Auto Bild, "The pressure, of course, also comes from his teammate, who is already driving like a world champion. McLaren already knows who is stronger in extreme situations."

Asked if Norris is mentally prepared to handle a championship fight, Tost replied: "I don't know."

Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has fewer doubts.

"Piastri is our opponent in the world championship battle," he said. "He's mentally stronger."

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes McLaren’s leadership already sees it the same way, even if they won’t say so publicly.

"I think it's now been decided internally that Piastri is the man the team will focus on when it comes to the world championship," Schumacher told Sky Deutschland.

"Lando is showing too much weakness and making too many mistakes. Add to that how he handled it after the crash with Piastri. He apologised, and that shows what a great person he is, but great people rarely win titles."

While Nico Rosberg believes psychological support could help Norris, Schumacher disagrees.

"You can't make a tiger out of a cow," he said. "Lando knows he can do it, but he also knows he can throw it away with a small mistake. Drivers like Piastri, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen - who is still the king of this discipline - just go for it. They say 'I'm the best here, I'll just drive. I'll just go for it'."

He added: "Lando is different. He's good in the long runs, but in qualifying, it would be better to turn the head off and just concentrate on what's fun for a driver - driving around the track as fast as possible."

Danish former racer John Nielsen was also critical, saying Norris' mistake in Montreal was especially damaging.

"If I'm being completely honest, it was the kind of mistake you make in Formula Ford," he told Ekstra Bladet. "Norris always says that he can become world champion if you're a nice guy, but we'll find out. He has the talent, but Piastri is much stronger mentally.

"Norris is every mother-in-law's dream, but he lacks that killer instinct that Verstappen, (George) Russell and Piastri have."