Lando Norris insisted it would be "silly" to count out Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the Formula One world title fight despite McLaren's dominance this season.

Norris sits second in the drivers' championship, three points behind McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, who has won four of the eight races so far in 2025. 

The British team's impressive displays on the track have given them a 172-point advantage in the constructors' championship, but Verstappen has also enjoyed success this year.

Indeed, the reigning world champion is the only non-McLaren driver to win a race this season, emerging victorious at the Japanese Grand Prix and the Emilia Romagna GP. 

"I think mathematically probably the whole grid can win the championship at the minute," Norris said ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend. 

"So, if you think it's just out of me and Oscar, then I think you're a bit silly. I think there's plenty of opportunities.

"Max [Verstappen] can still win. I think Ferrari, I expect them to get better through the season."

However, the Red Bull racer has been open about the struggles his team are facing in 2025, most notably with the handling of the RB21. 

Despite Verstappen winning two races, disappointing results in Bahrain and Monaco highlighted the team's difficulties in getting their car to click into gear. 

Norris, however, believes these concerns are not enough to count Verstappen out of the title fight just yet.

"We're racing Max every weekend," the McLaren driver added. "He's been on the podium several times. He's won races.

"I mean, he beat us in Imola, fair and square, because he was quicker. So, I don't know what possibly makes you think that it's only out of me and Oscar."

All eyes on Barcelona #McLaren | #M7AReborn | #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/xtPbKcP0Uo

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 29, 2025

While Norris remains wary of the threat posed by Verstappen and the battle he has on his hands with Piastri, he says the championship fight is not changing the way he approaches each race weekend.

"It's a great feeling to be in the lead of the championship and to have more points than everyone," he said. "But again, it's not something I look at.

"It's not something that changes anything I do day to day. It doesn't change how hard I work or what I try to achieve.

"I'll just try to win this weekend, and I'll try to win in Montreal, and I'll try to win in Austria. It's got nothing to do with what position I am."

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Lando Norris (McLaren)

After converting his lap-record pole position around Monaco into his second win of the 2025 season, Norris arrives in Barcelona with confidence as he aims to continue his push for a maiden world championship title. 

Indeed, following his pole in Monte Carlo, a repeat in Spain would make it a total of 12 for the British driver, and the third time that he has taken pole position at two consecutive grands prix in his F1 career. 

He could also become the first driver to take two pole positions in a row in Spain since Lewis Hamilton in 2020 and 2021, and the first McLaren driver since Mikka Hakkinen in 1998 and 1999. 

Norris will also overtake Jenson Button (136) as the driver with the second-most grand prix races competed in for McLaren. Only David Coulthard (150) has managed more. 

McLaren already have one hand on the constructors' title. The British team have scored points in each of the last 46 grands prix they have competed in. 

If they score in Spain, they can achieve the eighth-best run in the competition, surpassing Ferrari's 46 (twice, between San Marino 2006 and Italy 2008 and between Malaysia 2017 and USA 2019). 

Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

If anyone has a chance of stopping McLaren around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, it is Verstappen, who has found a second home in Barcelona. 

Indeed, there is no grand prix where the Dutchman has recorded more podiums (eight) or victories (four). 

If Verstappen scores at least 11 points in Sunday's race, it will also be his highest points tally in a single grand prix (currently 168), surpassing Austria (178). 

The reigning world champion has failed to take a pole position since the Miami Grand Prix, which was his third of the season, though that has rarely phased him in the past. 

Verstappen has won 32 times without starting from pole position. If he repeats the trick in Spain, it will be the 33rd time that he has reached the top step without starting at the front of the field, equalling Alain Prost for the third-most all time.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers'

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 161
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 158
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 136
4. George Russell (Mercedes) - 99
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 79

Constructors'

1. McLaren - 319
2. Mercedes - 147
3. Red Bull - 143
4. Ferrari - 142
5. Williams - 54