2025 McLaren F1 Team

[bananapeel23]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I'm currently on the fence, but I feel like Oscar is looking really solid now. He is clearly a lot closer to Norris than he used to be in quali, and is even leading the head to head so far this season. Additionally Piastri seems to be very close to Norris when he gets outqualified, while Norris seemingly ends up out of position more often.

I feel like Norris is still the faster driver and that his peaks are higher, but Piastri seems to be much more consistent and much less prone to making unforced errors. Personally I'm very 50/50 on who gets the title, assuming a McLaren driver wins it.

[FittingMechanics]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I'm currently on the fence, but I feel like Oscar is looking really solid now. He is clearly a lot closer to Norris than he used to be in quali, and is even leading the head to head so far this season. Additionally Piastri seems to be very close to Norris when he gets outqualified, while Norris seemingly ends up out of position more often.

I feel like Norris is still the faster driver and that his peaks are higher, but Piastri seems to be much more consistent and much less prone to making unforced errors. Personally I'm very 50/50 on who gets the title, assuming a McLaren driver wins it.

Did people forget how lopsided it was in 2024. Norris was much better than Piastri in 2024, especially in qualifying but in races as well. Piastri looks to be doing good this year, but it's still early to tell. To me, Piastri always showed flashes of brilliance even in 2023, but his problem was that he had weekends where he was just off and couldn't come close to Norris in pace or tire management. We need to see whether he can keep up the consistency.

Norris still seems to have the pace but consistency this year is suffering.

I would still rate Norris as the favorite, but it will be a closer fight one would think before the season started.

[CHT]

Oscars is the underdog between the two and he is managed by Webber. I think the pressure is now on Norris..

[ali623]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I'm currently on the fence, but I feel like Oscar is looking really solid now. He is clearly a lot closer to Norris than he used to be in quali, and is even leading the head to head so far this season. Additionally Piastri seems to be very close to Norris when he gets outqualified, while Norris seemingly ends up out of position more often.

I feel like Norris is still the faster driver and that his peaks are higher, but Piastri seems to be much more consistent and much less prone to making unforced errors. Personally I'm very 50/50 on who gets the title, assuming a McLaren driver wins it.

I think Norris is still faster on pure pace, but it's a question of whether he can get on top of whatever struggles he's having with the car right now. I would say Piastri is better in terms of racecraft and probably also general composure.

I disagree that Piastri is more consistent though, I don't think either driver has made a particularly cconsistent start to this season. Piastri was also very inconsistent last season (just less noticeable than Norris). People forget how many weekends Piastri had last season where he was nowhere while Norris was dominanting a race or miles ahead. Also he made plenty of unforced errors of his own last season (and already this season in Australia for example).

[SoulPancake13]

Norris is a better driver than Piastri but the car doesn't suit him at all as of now. This reminds me of Sainz and Leclerc in 2023... all it takes is one upgrade or change that moves the balance back to Norris and we will see a repeat of 2024. As of now, kudos to Piastri for getting the most out of the car but I doubt his raw pace. His racecraft is undeniably better than Lando's though.

[continuum16]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I'm currently on the fence, but I feel like Oscar is looking really solid now. He is clearly a lot closer to Norris than he used to be in quali, and is even leading the head to head so far this season. Additionally Piastri seems to be very close to Norris when he gets outqualified, while Norris seemingly ends up out of position more often.

I feel like Norris is still the faster driver and that his peaks are higher, but Piastri seems to be much more consistent and much less prone to making unforced errors. Personally I'm very 50/50 on who gets the title, assuming a McLaren driver wins it.

Agree 100%. I would say Piastri's biggest advantage over Norris is that he is not his own worst enemy, and he does not stick his neck out for the media like Norris does. Whether genuine or not Lando always seems to give a [mis]quotable statement each week that can be picked apart by either the tribalists on social media or even his own peers. Lando's really paying the price (in the public eye at least) for taking the piss out of Lewis and Max (whether he actually meant it or not) for winning with dominant cars which unfortunately makes it far too easy for people any maybe even himself to get in his own head when he A) has the fastest car and B) is not beating the one other driver with it.

Ultimately, who am I to tell an F1 driver what to do, but Lando also needs to get it out of his head that he should be trying to overtake around the outside. Austria, Austin, and Mexico '24 and now Bahrain '25 were painfully similar.

[basti313]

Norris is a better driver than Piastri but the car doesn't suit him at all as of now.

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I think these claims are utter BS. Both are very, very equal at the moment and no one can judge pure speed, as both are making too many faults. Reminds me like several seasons Hamilton vs. Rosberg, most of the time they were not driving at their best just in a dominant car.

Agree 100%. I would say Piastri's biggest advantage over Norris is that he is not his own worst enemy, and he does not stick his neck out for the media like Norris does.

Dunno if this is the reason. But you are right, it fits the point that he is not concentrated enough. Piastri makes a more composed picture, but screws up his Q3...not sure if this is what I call perfectly focused.

I do not like the point of discussing every overtake, as this is strongly depending on setups, tire state and the opponent itself. Might be a general issue with how Norris sets up the car.

Nevertheless I am struggling a bit with Australia. Was it pure luck for Norris, that Piastri dumped the gar on the grass and he got away with it? I do not know...in the end Norris is just lucky to still be ahead, could be worse.

BUT...I am sure we do not see them fighting at their pinnacle. Or at a possible pinnacle like others (Schumacher, Hamilton, Verstappen) showed in the past. Hope this bites a bit and we see an exciting season.

[Ben1980]

I'm putting the case that the expected race pace and tyre management of the McLaren WAS dominant here. Allied to that, Lando's mindset and racecaraft cost him massively and he didn't show McLaren's real pace in dirty air. Here goes;

Oscar's lead at the time of the safety car was 8 seconds.
Russell gained 2+ seconds on the undercut at the first stop.
When the race was restarted from SC Oscar had lost 10+ seconds.
His race victory was 15+ seconds, therefore equivalent to 25 seconds in a race not neutralised.
His pace at the end showed he had far more tyre life than his competitors, sure that's a benefit of being out front in clan air.

How did it appear that Oscar and McLaren didn't have more than 0.35 seconds per lap over Russell? Oscar was needing to defend his tyres, not his lead. First stint, 14 laps on softs - nobody knew how they would handle the heat so caution in extending a lead beyond the undercut was the priority. Oscar's first stint was only curtailed because of the Russell undercut threat.

Second stint on mediums wasn't as conservative as the first because of the confidence and knowledge in the mediums. 18 laps on mediums Oscar extended his lead from 2 seconds to 8.5 seconds running much of the time when not caught in traffic, nearly 0.5 faster than George.

Final stint and with Russell on softs and 20 racing laps left there was no way Oscar could lose. With 5 laps to go he was dipping into the 1.35s while everyone else was in the 1.37s and 1.38s - such was his advantage on worn tyres and low tanks. The only reason Oscar maintained this pace was to rub in the message while taking no risks at all. Masterclass.

Correct me where you disagree.

How did Landos mindset cost him anything? How can you make a comment on his mindset without knowing it, unless you are a psychologist maybe.

This mindset stuff is just being making stuff up.

[Ben1980]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I'm currently on the fence, but I feel like Oscar is looking really solid now. He is clearly a lot closer to Norris than he used to be in quali, and is even leading the head to head so far this season. Additionally Piastri seems to be very close to Norris when he gets outqualified, while Norris seemingly ends up out of position more often.

I feel like Norris is still the faster driver and that his peaks are higher, but Piastri seems to be much more consistent and much less prone to making unforced errors. Personally I'm very 50/50 on who gets the title, assuming a McLaren driver wins it.

Agree 100%. I would say Piastri's biggest advantage over Norris is that he is not his own worst enemy, and he does not stick his neck out for the media like Norris does. Whether genuine or not Lando always seems to give a [mis]quotable statement each week that can be picked apart by either the tribalists on social media or even his own peers. Lando's really paying the price (in the public eye at least) for taking the piss out of Lewis and Max (whether he actually meant it or not) for winning with dominant cars which unfortunately makes it far too easy for people any maybe even himself to get in his own head when he A) has the fastest car and B) is not beating the one other driver with it.

Ultimately, who am I to tell an F1 driver what to do, but Lando also needs to get it out of his head that he should be trying to overtake around the outside. Austria, Austin, and Mexico '24 and now Bahrain '25 were painfully similar.

What Lando says in the media has no impact on his driving. It only impacts people who want to look for connections.

[Tvetovnato]

Can anybody summarize the expected implications of the TD in Spain for McLaren now? There has been very little news about it lately. Red Bull stills seems to hope that it will change the picture, but what do we think? They already tightened the flexing rules a couple of races ago which did not seem to have the slightest effect, so what remains for Spain now?

And IF McLaren would be as badly affected as some seem to think, wouldn’t it make sense for them to start testing less flexy wings already now to prepare for what’s coming?

[Slahinki]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I'm currently on the fence, but I feel like Oscar is looking really solid now. He is clearly a lot closer to Norris than he used to be in quali, and is even leading the head to head so far this season. Additionally Piastri seems to be very close to Norris when he gets outqualified, while Norris seemingly ends up out of position more often.

I feel like Norris is still the faster driver and that his peaks are higher, but Piastri seems to be much more consistent and much less prone to making unforced errors. Personally I'm very 50/50 on who gets the title, assuming a McLaren driver wins it.

It's been a grand total of four races. It's way too early to call, but my money is going to be on Lando for now. He's on a 100% podium streak in a car that doesn't suit him, and 2024 was pretty one sided.

[AR3-GP]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I'm currently on the fence, but I feel like Oscar is looking really solid now. He is clearly a lot closer to Norris than he used to be in quali, and is even leading the head to head so far this season. Additionally Piastri seems to be very close to Norris when he gets outqualified, while Norris seemingly ends up out of position more often.

I feel like Norris is still the faster driver and that his peaks are higher, but Piastri seems to be much more consistent and much less prone to making unforced errors. Personally I'm very 50/50 on who gets the title, assuming a McLaren driver wins it.

Racecraft: Oscar, it was the case last year too.

Speed: Car dependent. I think that Mclaren's new suspension is the reason that Lando doesn't feel comfortable in the car. He can't brake the car, always locking up when he tries to extract that last 1% in Q3. The aggressive geometry of that suspension probably ruins the braking feel on the limit. This is something that Red Bull struggled with in 2022-2024 which was masked by the massive downforce that the car generated (like MCL-39 currently). Piastri's normal driving style is smoother (like Verstappen) which is why he is more successful with the new car.

The problems for Norris won't go away unless he successfully adapts his driving style. Mclaren won't be able to change their suspension much this season and it's not clear that they would choose to since the simulations say that this makes the whole package fast, and Oscar can drive it.

Even if he were to adapt his driving, Lando's racecraft still has too many holes even when the car actually suited him so I'd bet on Oscar anyway.

[SmallSoldier]

All the talk of "dominant" car is because McLaren has two (top) drivers who are similar on pace. If they had a "Verstappen" and a "Perez" then there would be no talk of dominant McLaren.

I also think people are wrongly using "dominant" to mean fastest car. The car that is fastest is not dominant if it has a small advantage. Like last year, McLaren had on average fastest car after Miami but it wasn't dominant in most tracks, only exceptions were Hungary (1-2), Zandvoort and Singapore (and even there Piastri didn't manage to get to P2).

100% agreed
Dominance refers to 2023 redbull...where if you're not winning, your team mate is. Also cleaning up qualifying, sprints and even the practice sessions.

Although I feel the only people who can undo all this good work mclaren is doing, are mlcaren themselves...papaya rules are going to become a problem sooner rather than later...and while I respect a 'let then race' philosophy...in a championship this close...its only a matter of time before teams have to pick a clear no. 1 driver for the championship. And with out a dominant car you have to do that otherwise...you'll lose both trophies.

Didn't stop Lauda and Prost scoring McLaren titles in 1984 and 1985,
Didn't stop Piquet and Mansell on 1987,
Didn't stop Prost and Senna in 1988 and 1989,
Hill and Villeneuve in 1996,
Button and Barrichello in 2009,
Hamilton and Rosberg in 1014, 2015 and 2016.

Course if you want to see the dull and turgid affairs of pay drivers doing as they're told like Barrichello at Ferrari and Bottas at Mercedes, then I enjoy a different version of the sport I have loved for more than 50 years. Everyone loses, the sport and the fans when F1 is conducted like a high speed version of the Tour de France!

Every once in a while someone gets it spot on… And you just did!

McLaren is lucky to have 2 drivers that are among the best in F1 today

[bananapeel23]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I think these claims are utter BS.

My source for that claim is betting odds (which have Piastri at 47% vs Norris at 42%) but I didn’t want to specify that over fears of getting slapped with a ban for advertising gambling or something, even if I was just using it as a guage of sentiment.

[Seerix]

Public opinion seems to have shifted in favour of Piastri being the better driver at McLaren. Do you guys agree with this?

I think these claims are utter BS.

My source for that claim is betting odds (which have Piastri at 47% vs Norris at 42%) but I didn’t want to specify that over fears of getting slapped with a ban for advertising gambling or something, even if I was just using it as a guage of sentiment.

In my country Lando has better odds at winning in all metrics by a small margin.