How did Piastri turn the tables on Norris in one key area this season?

The previous season, Norris scored 82 points more than his teammate. The Australian driver especially got outperformed 20-4 in Qualifying. That however seems to be turning around in 2025.

Taking into account the Sprint Qualifying sessions as well (held in China and Miami), Piastri could start seven times ahead of his teammate, while Norris only managed to outperform him on four occasions.

On average, Piastri is roughly a tenth quicker as well taking all sessions into account.

Moreover, the most damaging mistake was Norris' in Jeddah, when he crashed out in Q3 without setting a lap time, putting him in P10. Time-wise however, that does not penalise him in the average difference.

This is especially important in a season, where it is important to be in the lead in order to avoid dealing with dirty air.

So far in 2025, out of the nine Grands Prix and two Sprints, on seven occasions did the driver starting from pole position ended up crossing the finish line in first place, and only at the two events in Miami did the McLaren drivers end up winning starting from the second row the grid.

This means that 82% of the contested events have been won by a driver starting on the first row.

What stands out further is that on average, in the sessions leading up to Q3 on average, Norris is still the faster driver. However that swings for Q3, and in the lead-up sessions the key is to not get eliminated.

As only 10 points separate the two teammates, Piastri will have to keep performing the same way in Qualifying for his title bid. Getting over the latest technical directive hurdle as well, the McLaren drivers are in a good position to battle it out between themselves.

But so far so encouraging for the Australian in one of the areas he had a weakness in the previous campaign.