Success in Formula 1 isn’t just about raw talent. Modern drivers must have the full package: speed, race craft, physical and mental toughness, media savvy and the ability to work a room and represent sponsors. But even the most complete driver often needs one thing above all to reach the top: money. In a sport where costs are astronomical from karting onward, access to financial backing can determine who even gets a shot at a seat. That’s where the contrast between Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen becomes striking.
Lando Norris - Britain’s Rich Kid
Lando Norris is the poster child for financial privilege in modern F1, though vastly outflanked by Canadian Lance Stroll. His father, Adam Norris, is a multi-millionaire businessman who made his fortune in the financial services sector, with some sources listing him among the UK’s wealthiest individuals. From private school onward, every stage of Lando’s early career was financially supported. While he has insisted his results, not his father’s bank account, earned him an F1 seat, the structural advantage is clear: Lando never had to worry about sponsorships, testing budgets or international travel costs that have crushed many other aspiring drivers. Lucky man.
As with many drivers in this elite sport, Norris has a beautiful young girlfriend who is also a model and was recently featured in British Vogue.
Oscar Piastri - The Middle-Class Grind
By contrast, Oscar Piastri hails from a fairly middle-class Australian family. There’s no evidence of substantial family wealth backing his career. Piastri’s rise through F3 and F2 relied almost entirely on scholarships, team support and performance-based funding. Every step up the motorsport ladder was earned with his results on track, rather than cushioned by a parent’s hefty bank account. That grind has arguably forged a driver who is highly self-reliant, disciplined and acutely aware of the stakes at play - traits that contrast sharply with the luxury Norris has enjoyed.
His girlfriend, since high school, is an engineer, not a model.
Max Verstappen - Motorsport Pedigree, Access Advantage
Then there’s Max Verstappen, whose family's moderate wealth is intertwined with motorsport itself. His tough-love father, Jos Verstappen, raced in Formula 1 and his mother, Sophie Kumpen, was a successful karting driver from a wealthy Belgian family. Max didn’t just have money - he had motorsport infrastructure, elite coaching and professional guidance from an early age. His advantage wasn’t general wealth, but deep immersion in the racing world, giving him access to superb opportunities and the kind of connections that money alone can’t buy.
He is full-on in the F1 jet set.
The Big Picture
- Norris: Liquid wealth, structural advantage, ability to fund every step of a racing career
- Piastri: Middle-class background, self-made trajectory, reliant on talent and scholarships
- Verstappen: Motorsport pedigree, embedded access, expert guidance from birth
In other words, talent alone rarely tells the whole story. F1 success is a mix of skill, dedication, opportunity and, for some, substantial financial backing. Norris’s career, in particular, illustrates how wealth can amplify natural ability, giving him freedom to focus entirely on development, while Piastri’s rise shows the hurdles middle-class drivers must clear to get a shot at the top. Verstappen, meanwhile, demonstrates the potent combination of inherited skill and motorsport immersion.
On Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the last race of the 2025 F1 Championship season, Verstappen stood where he deserved to be - at the top of the podium, a commanding reminder of this 4-time consecutive Champion’s incredible skill.
Piastri, undoubtedly disappointed not to win the Championship despite slim odds, could still take satisfaction in sticking it to Norris by finishing ahead of him in 2nd place.
And Norris - the newly reigned F1 Champion who has always been financially untouchable off-track - ultimately had to look up at the 2 drivers above him from the third and final step of the podium.
What would have happened if Norris had been given a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on lap 23? But, then and again, the penalty went to Yuki Tsunoda for more than 1 change of direction (since when is defending one’s position not permitted?). We will never know - there’s no going back.
“‘Exceeding track limits’ is when all 4 tires cross the white line surrounding the racing surface. According to article 33.3 of the Sporting Regulations, Drivers must make every reasonable effort to use the track at all times and may not leave the track without a justifiable reason. Drivers will be judged to have left the track if no part of the car remains in contact with it. Any white lines defining the track edges are considered to be part of the track, the kerbs are not. Should a car leave the track, the driver may re-join, however, this may only be done when it is safe to do so and without gaining any lasting advantage. At the absolute discretion of the Race Director, a driver may be given the opportunity to give back the whole of any advantage he gained by leaving the track.”
At the end of the day, as Glenn Freeman of The Race said:
“Norris gets to call himself a world champion forever. A few "yeah, buts" from smartarses on social media don't matter when you get your hands on that iconic F1 trophy.”
It’s time now for a much-deserved break after 24 gruelling races. Next year promises important technical changes, it’ll be interesting to see how the drama unfolds. The quirky, brilliant Sam Collins, one of my favorite technical hosts, explains it all:
In the meantime, stay tuned for the first bit of drama when the next season of Drive to Survive airs on Netflix to whet our appetites. My guess is that it’ll be released at the end of February, just before the start of the 2026 season in Melbourne (March 6-8).
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