With 13 Grand Prix wins, 62 podiums, and 12 poles under his belt, David Coulthard can easily boast of being one of the best talents in F1 during his time. Having raced for champion teams like McLaren and Williams and helped Red Bull to establish themselves in the sport, Coulthard has stood the test of time to become a credible voice in the F1 community.
But even with all these accolades in hindsight, the Scotsman ranks Lando Norris as a better driver than himself.
Coulthard was asked to pick a driver who was better than him in a YouTube video by Lucas Stewart. The 53-year-old skipped the likes of Logan Sargeant, Nikita Mazepin, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon, and Valtteri Bottas before giving his vote of confidence to Norris.
Looking at how Norris has progressed in the sport since 2019, Coulthard isn’t way off in his assessment. The #4 driver has won four Grands Prix to date with 26 podiums to his name, which is quite close to the former Red Bull driver’s tally after six seasons in F1. But is that enough for the McLaren man to be a better driver than Coulthard?
Norris has seen a recent rise in his stock in the F1 paddock since McLaren gave him a race-winning package. Always touted as a championship contender, the Briton gave Max Verstappen a tough fight in the 2024 season. In the end, however, Verstappen edged out Norris to secure his fourth consecutive world title.
Lando Norris is ranked as the best driver for the season in the Overall Aramco Power Rankings after 21 races
Max is close behind in 2nd pic.twitter.com/j8hlX65d5M— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) November 6, 2024
Going into 2025, the 25-year-old is considered by many to be a championship favorite — something Coulthard hasn’t achieved. As things stand, McLaren have the best package going into this season and Norris could consistently fight at the front of the field and vie for his maiden drivers’ title after helping the team to their first Constructors’ title since 1998, last year.
There will be no excuses for Norris in 2025
The complexion of the 2024 Drivers’ Championship changed after Norris bagged his maiden win at the Miami GP. However, by that time, Verstappen had already secured a comfortable cushion in the standings to pull him through.
That said, given the form book at the end of last season, McLaren go into 2025 as solid title contenders. Deeming Norris as a top contender for the drivers’ title, 2016 world champion, Nico Rosberg believes that the Briton has no other option but to win.
“There’s no reason why he shouldn’t be the favorite, right? Because at the end of this year, McLaren was the strongest car. He has been marginally stronger than Piastri within the team. So he should be the favorite,” he said on the Sky Sports F1 podcast.
Despite going into 2025 as the favorite to pick up the trophy, Norris will have to contend with a competitive field. Ferrari seem on par with McLaren in terms of pace, and with Charles Leclerc and a rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton, Norris will have his hands full this season.
