Lando Norris said he would not see the 2025 Formula One season as a failure if he was unable to scoop his maiden world title this year. 

Norris reduced the deficit to McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri to just 15 points after his win at the Austrian Grand Prix last time out, in what was the seventh win of his career. 

The 25-year-old emerged as the favourite to win the championship this season after going toe-to-toe with Max Verstappen last year, falling just short at the final hurdle. 

But it is Piastri who has impressed for McLaren this season, winning five of the 11 races so far, to Norris' three. Verstappen (two) and George Russell are the only other victors. 

Verstappen finds himself 61 points adrift of Piastri, with the likelihood that Piastri and Norris are in a two-horse race to see who will come out on top. 

Should he fail to win the drivers' crown, Norris said on Wednesday: "I'd have to say I didn't succeed in what my goal was, but I don't think you can ever call it a failure, because I don't believe I've failed anything.

"I feel like maybe I just didn't live up to what I believed I could have done or the level I should have done at certain times.

"I think if things were much easier, and you don't achieve your goal, maybe you could call it a failure, but when it's 24 races, it's such a long season against the best in the world, I don't think you can ever call it a failure. Maybe you didn't succeed."

There have been questions about the dynamic between Piastri and Norris this season, with the pair told they are free to race each other by McLaren. 

Zak Brown said a coming together would be "inevitable" earlier in the season, and that came to fruition at the Canadian Grand Prix last month. 

That resulted in Norris being forced to retire from the race in Montreal, with Piastri emerging unscathed to take fourth. 

But the Briton's errors in qualifying and race had put his title credentials in doubt, but he proved them wrong with a dominant drive in Austria last time out, fending off a race-long challenge from his Australian team-mate. 

"I certainly think I've improved," he said. "It may be very easy to say the opposite from the outside because I've just made some more mistakes.

"But I certainly feel like I'm a more complete driver."

Norris, however, said self-inflicted pressure was stronger than anything external. 

"It's more the desire, almost too much desire inside to want to do such a good job every weekend, to deliver for the team," Norris added. 

"I want to deliver for the team, and I want to win. I kind of put myself under the pressure too much, but I understand that."

This weekend's British Grand Prix offers the chance for Norris to win his home race for the first time, with his best result at Silverstone seeing him finish second in 2023. 

While his home race may be seen as the ultimate pressure, Norris saw it otherwise. 

"It almost distracts you more in a good way, distracts you more by having your fans and your supporters there," he said.

"You're almost more there enjoying the moment rather than 'I've got to do this for them,' as much as that is probably a thought prior to the weekend."

LN-4luro #McLaren | #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/bS1IDmdsbW

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 3, 2025

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Lando Norris – McLaren

Norris will be hoping to build on the momentum he gained from his impressive victory at the Red Bull Ring last time out, with Saturday's qualifying perhaps key to his success. 

Indeed, after winning his seventh career race last week, 85.7% of the Briton's victories have come from pole position (six out of seven, the last six), the highest percentage of any driver in the history of the sport. 

The McLaren driver has secured two pole positions and two victories over the last four Grands Prix. That is as many pole positions as in the previous 10 races and as many wins as he had managed in his previous 13 F1 races. 

And on a circuit that has been dominated by British drivers over the years, Norris will be keen to add his name to that list. 

Should he emerge victorious, he would become the 36th driver to win a Grand Prix in their home country. 

He could also be the first McLaren driver to win the British Grand Prix since David Coulthard, who did so 25 years ago. 

Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton's career with Ferrari has yet to take flight, but the seven-time world champion has shown signs that he is getting to grips with his new surroundings at the Scuderia. 

He believed that Ferrari's qualifying session was a "fantastic result", following that up with a fourth-placed finish in last Sunday's race, equalling his best result for the team. 

Having already claimed his first win for Ferrari, albeit in the Sprint race in China, Hamilton returns to a track that holds memories, the latest of which came just 12 months ago. 

He ended a 31-month winless run with a victory at Silverstone last year, bringing the 40-year-old to tears after a troubling few seasons with Mercedes. 

Indeed, no driver in F1 history has won the same Grand Prix more times than Hamilton in Great Britain (nine), surpassing Michael Schumacher's record in France (eight) and the British driver's own record in Hungary (eight). 

But he has failed to finish on the podium in each of his last 13 races in the competition, surpassing his worst such streak in his career, which was 12 between Sao Paulo 2023 and Canada 2024. 

However, with a 150,000-strong crowd behind him, Hamilton will believe that anything is possible. 

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers'

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 216

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 201

3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 155

4. George Russell (Mercedes) - 146

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 119

Constructors'

1. McLaren - 417

2. Ferrari - 210

3. Mercedes - 209

4. Red Bull - 162

5. Williams - 55