Former Ferrari engineer believes “at least three drivers are stronger than Piastri and Norris”. Luigi Mazzola believes there are at least three Formula 1 drivers stronger than Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris currently hold the first and second positions respectively in the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship standings.

Throughout this season, the McLaren team has demonstrated such a technical superiority that it has allowed both drivers to compete for the title against each other, without facing any rival from another team.

At the summer break, after 14 of the 24 scheduled races, Oscar Piastri leads the championship with a narrow advantage of 9 points over Lando Norris. This margin is absolutely minimal and definitely surmountable.

Luigi Mazzola has no doubts: Piastri and Norris are not the best
Despite the fact that both drivers are undoubtedly performing at a very high level, former Ferrari engineer Luigi Mazzola is convinced that there are “at least three drivers stronger” than them.

Following the Hungarian Grand Prix, during the Sky Race Anatomy program, Mazzola confidently stated that Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell would “behave differently” if they had the MCL39 car at their disposal.

However, Formula 1 is a team sport in which drivers’ abilities are, willingly or unwillingly, limited by the maximum performance offered by their car.

One thing is certain: if the three drivers mentioned by Luigi Mazzola had a more competitive car, the current world championship standings would not show them respectively 97, 112, and 133 points behind the leader.