Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has picked Lando Norris as his favourite for the drivers' title this season after learning from fighting Max Verstappen - but has also issued a warning. Norris fell short in his quest to defeat Verstappen in last year's drivers' championship, although he at least played his part in McLaren claiming a first constructors' title since 1998. McLaren finished just 14 points ahead of Ferrari, with Herbert expecting the title this year to be between the same two teams. "Constructors' [title], it's between the McLaren and Ferrari," Herbert told CasinoApps . "The two driver packages they both have are very strong. "I'd still go to McLaren at the moment just because I know how consistent that car was at every single track that we saw them at from the second part of [last] season onwards. "That's where the Ferrari's probably still got to prove that point. So, I'll stick with McLaren for that." In terms of the drivers' championship, it is Norris who Herbert is backing to win a maiden F1 title this season. Norris enters 2025 in good form after his performances over the second half of last season, notably winning the curtain-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In addition, the British driver was excellent in pre-season testing, with Herbert also confident lessons have been learnt from battling Verstappen. However, Herbert suspects that team-mate Oscar Piastri could be a significant threat to Norris. "I’m backing Lando for the drivers' [title]," revealed Herbert. "He's got a bit between his teeth. He's learnt a massive amount from his racing against Max. And I think he's learned what he needs to do to be able to beat him. "But he's got to be very, very careful with his team-mate because I think Oscar is going to be very much in the mix at the same time."
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