Lando Norris has the pace to beat Oscar Piastri – but does he have the poise?

Lando Norris possesses all the speed he needs to become an F1 drivers’ champion this season. 

However, the Belgian Grand Prix re-established a concerning weakness in the 25-year-old’s arsenal.

The McLaren driver failed to capitalise on pole position at Spa-Francorchamps, and I cannot help but feel he handed victory to team-mate Oscar Piastri.

As a consequence, what should have become a mere two-point gap to the Australian in the title hunt grew to a 16-point deficit.

Not a huge discrepancy, but another performance like that at the Hungarian Grand Prix and Norris will be heading into the summer break almost a full race victory behind the 24-year-old – if not worse.

Fortunately for the British driver, McLaren continues to insist upon its admirable “two number one driver” stance and looks set to maintain parity between the two for the duration of the campaign, something made all the more likely by Max Verstappen increasingly becoming a non-entity in the championship equation.

Therefore, so long as Norris and Piastri can keep within 25 points of one another, their battle for a maiden crown will go down to the wire, and then anything can happen.

Plus, with the Australian on a 41-grand prix finishing streak – the third-longest in F1 history – he is surely due a retirement soon. Surely.

But, to even be in the picture come Abu Dhabi, Norris needs to address a critically exposed area in his armour – and quickly.

Breaking down happened at Spa-Francorchamps

Norris failing to convert pole into victory in Belgium was undoubtedly and undeniably down to a catalogue of errors, and they were not all his mistakes.

However, the series of unfortunate events, to borrow from Lemony Snicket, was instigated by the eight-time grand prix winner.

Some of the misfortune was plainly not Norris' fault, like Isack Hadjar squarely inserting himself into the heart of the fight for victory by taking far too long to get out of the way when being lapped by the second McLaren in the dying stages of the race.

But the most egregious moment that cost him the win also doubles up as the catalyst for the snowball effect that transpired thereafter.

When the race eventually got underway on Lap 5, Norris fumbled the restart; he arguably went too soon and certainly took the wrong line through Turn 1.

That left him fighting a squirrelly exit from La Source, whilst Piastri, who had taken a wider line through the corner, was well positioned to attack with a better run to Eau Rouge and through Raidillon.

The Briton was exposed, as McLaren team principal Andrea Stella had warned against, and at the mercy of his team-mate, who duly made him pay, seizing the lead and control of the race.

From there, Piastri had pit stop priority, which further stung Norris, who was forced to pit for dry tyres a lap later. It cost him precious time, and when he eventually did rid himself of the intermediate compound, it was a poor stop from the team.

That part he had little control over, but he was only in that position because of his initial misjudgment at the rolling start.

Norris emerged from the pit lane almost 10 seconds adrift on hard tyres to Piastri's mediums. He set about on an impressive and concerted effort to reel the latter in, delivering push laps one after another. But then the first of three further errors occurred.

Going wide at Pouhon cost him almost one and a half seconds, before two lock-ups at Turn 1, the last of which came on the penultimate lap, added a further 1.2 seconds to the gap, and ultimately consigned Norris to his fate.

He crossed the line 3.4 seconds adrift, and those mistakes - coupled with Hadjar delaying his charge by almost a full lap - prevented him from getting within striking distance of Piastri.

Bringing the intensity and performance of qualifying, lap after lap after lap, is incredibly difficult. However, when the chips were down and the stakes were high, Norris showed a lack of composure, losing valuable time and throwing away any possibility of reclaiming the lead.

Winning from behind

The Singapore Grand Prix last season saw Norris almost lose a certain victory through multiple errors as a result of wayward concentration, but what happened at Spa-Francorchamps is something different.

It appears his operating window is narrower than his team-mate's, which manifests as being less versatile in his ability to win from differing situations. That poses a problem.

At the moment, Norris is quicker than Piastri. He has the edge, both over one lap and a grand prix distance, but only just.

And whilst the former has seemingly found the antidote to the session and weekend-ruining mistakes he was making earlier in the campaign, he is not able to deliver the metronomic consistency of the latter.

There is less variance and fluctuation in Piastri's performance, and the unflappable Australian is more clinical in wheel-to-wheel action.

Piastri is less fazed by being behind; he can play both the hunted and the hunter and is more comfortable in combat. Norris is less battle-ready.

It's a paucity he must address. He showed at the Austrian Grand Prix that he can soak up and absorb Piastri's pressure, but can he win when he falls behind and needs to chase?

Both have won eight grand prix, but Norris has only twice triumphed when he has not been on pole. Conversely, Piastri has taken victory five times from the same scenario.

Although Norris is the faster of the two, he will need to improve in that area. He cannot merely rely on winning from the front because he isn't always going to be in front.

The pace delta is close, and sometimes Piastri will be quicker, and when that is the case, Norris will need the poise to find a way to win.