Former F1 driver predicts first-time champion for 2025 title success

Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has backed Lando Norris to win the F1 championship next season.

Norris finished second in the standings this year to Red Bull's Max Verstappen, taking four grand prix wins throughout the campaign.

His efforts, combined with team-mate Oscar Piastri's, delivered McLaren its first constructors' title since the 1998 season.

However, Herbert has backed Norris to go one better in 2025 and claim his maiden drivers' title.

“Lando Norris,” Herbert told plejmo.com when discussing his pick for the 2025 champion. “All he has got to do is use his elbows a little bit more and he will be the complete driver. 

“Oscar maybe won’t help his teammate. Lando has learned his lessons and heard all the chatter that has been going on. 

“Lando at the moment has that ultimate speed which Oscar might not have shown consistently this year. Lando has a massive chance next year.”

The 2025 season will be the last under the current set of technical regulations and is poised to be a tight affair following an unpredictable campaign this past year.

Herbert asserted it is McLaren's best chance to win a drivers' title with the 2026 regulation shake-up presenting many unknowns.

"Next year is McLaren's best chance to have a world champion. 2026 is all too up in the air with the new developments,” Herbert said.

“There is no reason though why McLaren can’t keep their momentum going. They have a very good infrastructure, one of the best in F1, and a great mix of people throughout the team, not least to cope with the changes coming in 2026. 

“This could well be a throwback to the days when McLaren were always the team to beat.”