2025 McLaren F1 Team

[Ben1980]

I said before I'd like to see an Oscar and Max battle. This may be the time.

Was thinking this yesterday. I have a fear that it could be messy!

I think this will be another test on how has he improved. Max has generally blitzed him most times previously. So will be good to see. Also, will their be tyre deg. The mediums are ladt years softs. So how will he do with that, if it gets tight.

[Farnborough]

Piatri needs to be brave, insistent but careful.

He's more to loose by tangling with MV for his own title aspect and against Lando in their team.

That's for this race I say that. Points for second are of great value in overall scheme right now. Thar will change in different circumstances. He needs to maximise as Max does, pragmatic as Oscar is I've a feeling he'll take the logic view for this one.

There's no point Lando starting on hards, needs pace immediately, chassis best at preservation of tyres SHOULD help, but needs that immediate jump and potential DRS emphasis to avoid being too far back from front six off the bat. He's got to push it out risk wise. Hustle those immediately surrounding him from the get go to salvage a shot at edge of top 3 places.

[mwillems]

How is overtaking in this circuit?

Tricky if you have a low top speed like the Mclarens.

As always I’m open to be proven wrong, even more so considering I don’t study the telemetry but I’ve just looked on F1 tempo and on the laps Verstappen and Oscar gunned for pole- Oscar had the higher top speed with DRS

Yeah, Oscar doesn't look much slower but this is in part because of DRS, but it looks promising.

[f1isgood]

I think Oscar should try to get a better start, if he can't he should simply let the race come to him. Oscar seems mature and I think he will do it just fine. Should be a straightforward win for McLaren.

[mwillems]

Piatri needs to be brave, insistent but careful.

He's more to loose by tangling with MV for his own title aspect and against Lando in their team.

That's for this race I say that. Points for second are of great value in overall scheme right now. Thar will change in different circumstances. He needs to maximise as Max does, pragmatic as Oscar is I've a feeling he'll take the logic view for this one.

There's no point Lando starting on hards, needs pace immediately, chassis best at preservation of tyres SHOULD help, but needs that immediate jump and potential DRS emphasis to avoid being too far back from front six off the bat. He's got to push it out risk wise. Hustle those immediately surrounding him from the get go to salvage a shot at edge of top 3 places.

Piastri may have an exercise in strategy today, about when and how to push, and this is somewhere he has always trailed Lando. This year the car's deg traits do help him, so it may be a case of sitting back and being patient and then pushing when he feels he has a sufficient tyre delta - if he doesn't have outright pace.

Piatri doesn't make rash decisions typically, but he can be a little impatient and he is certainly aggressive and with that, we have to keep an eye on what Max will do.

But the difference between this and last year is that Max has less reason to be kamikaze, since if he has an incident with Oscar, George and Lando are there to reap the rewards, so there are reasons for everyone to make the right calls.

[Darth-Piekus]

I said before I'd like to see an Oscar and Max battle. This may be the time.

Was thinking this yesterday. I have a fear that it could be messy!

I think this will be another test on how has he improved. Max has generally blitzed him most times previously. So will be good to see. Also, will their be tyre deg. The mediums are ladt years softs. So how will he do with that, if it gets tight.

Thing is if Oscar keeps working and improving year by year he will be better than Max at some point as Max will peak.

[mwillems]

Oscar has a way to go and we don't know his ceiling yet lol

[Farnborough]

Piatri needs to be brave, insistent but careful.

He's more to loose by tangling with MV for his own title aspect and against Lando in their team.

That's for this race I say that. Points for second are of great value in overall scheme right now. Thar will change in different circumstances. He needs to maximise as Max does, pragmatic as Oscar is I've a feeling he'll take the logic view for this one.

There's no point Lando starting on hards, needs pace immediately, chassis best at preservation of tyres SHOULD help, but needs that immediate jump and potential DRS emphasis to avoid being too far back from front six off the bat. He's got to push it out risk wise. Hustle those immediately surrounding him from the get go to salvage a shot at edge of top 3 places.

Piastri may have an exercise in strategy today, about when and how to push, and this is somewhere he has always trailed Lando. This year the car's deg traits do help him, so it may be a case of sitting back and being patient and then pushing when he feels he has a sufficient tyre delta - if he doesn't have outright pace.

Piatri doesn't make rash decisions typically, but he can be a little impatient and he is certainly aggressive and with that, we have to keep an eye on what Max will do.

But the difference between this and last year is that Max has less reason to be kamikaze, since if he has an incident with Oscar, George and Lando are there to reap the rewards, so there are reasons for everyone to make the right calls.

While I'm sure MV will want the championship, he's obviously 4x already, has a run of consecutive victory stretching the same total as collectively these other three have so far achieved in their whole F1 career too, he's not much to loose at this point in the season for hand to hand combat.

Each of McL drivers have more need not to cock it up, George too. In reality, this championship with the cars really quite close together has far more for each of them in personal gain to their career than Max has to loose in this race.

[Ben1980]

Was thinking this yesterday. I have a fear that it could be messy!

I think this will be another test on how has he improved. Max has generally blitzed him most times previously. So will be good to see. Also, will their be tyre deg. The mediums are ladt years softs. So how will he do with that, if it gets tight.

Thing is if Oscar keeps working and improving year by year he will be better than Max at some point as Max will peak.

Let's not be silly, we don't know what will happen. And in reality it will all come down to cars.

I love Leclerc l, I think he is 2nd to Max. But he hasn't a sniff of a title at present. Maybe this is Oscar's time to shine, maybe Merc blitz the new regs, and Kimi steps up

Oscar has potential, but if he hung it out at Alpine, not sure he will be seen as the same.

It's all about luck sometimes.

[BMMR61]

The strategies for Oscar to get the lead from Max, apart from outdragging him to turn 1, are a bit tricky. Max will control the pace to preserve his rear tyres while at the same time keeping the field spread small making the undercut timing very tricky. Too early and you risk dropping into a DRS train of drivers yet to stop and you have to outfox the Redbull crew. The superior tyre degradation of the McLaren is their best asset in the race but can it be used to good effect? Lando's task is even tougher as he tends to not be as good an overtaker as the more clinical Oscar.

[mwillems]

Piastri may have an exercise in strategy today, about when and how to push, and this is somewhere he has always trailed Lando. This year the car's deg traits do help him, so it may be a case of sitting back and being patient and then pushing when he feels he has a sufficient tyre delta - if he doesn't have outright pace.

Piatri doesn't make rash decisions typically, but he can be a little impatient and he is certainly aggressive and with that, we have to keep an eye on what Max will do.

But the difference between this and last year is that Max has less reason to be kamikaze, since if he has an incident with Oscar, George and Lando are there to reap the rewards, so there are reasons for everyone to make the right calls.

While I'm sure MV will want the championship, he's obviously 4x already, has a run of consecutive victory stretching the same total as collectively these other three have so far achieved in their whole F1 career too, he's not much to loose at this point in the season for hand to hand combat.

Each of McL drivers have more need not to cock it up, George too. In reality, this championship with the cars really quite close together has far more for each of them in personal gain to their career than Max has to loose in this race.

Hmm, let's see. I'm optimistic that Max is a wiser head and won't risk points. That's not to say he won't put up a fight, I just mean I don't think he will make hard binary choices in defence or attack because the championship is not a binary equation yet. Last year he could run his car into Lando and it was OK, because he was already ahead in the standings. if both drop points, Max wins, because it was one less race for Lando to catch up.

[f1isgood]

Piastri may have an exercise in strategy today, about when and how to push, and this is somewhere he has always trailed Lando. This year the car's deg traits do help him, so it may be a case of sitting back and being patient and then pushing when he feels he has a sufficient tyre delta - if he doesn't have outright pace.

Piatri doesn't make rash decisions typically, but he can be a little impatient and he is certainly aggressive and with that, we have to keep an eye on what Max will do.

But the difference between this and last year is that Max has less reason to be kamikaze, since if he has an incident with Oscar, George and Lando are there to reap the rewards, so there are reasons for everyone to make the right calls.

While I'm sure MV will want the championship, he's obviously 4x already, has a run of consecutive victory stretching the same total as collectively these other three have so far achieved in their whole F1 career too, he's not much to loose at this point in the season for hand to hand combat.

Each of McL drivers have more need not to cock it up, George too. In reality, this championship with the cars really quite close together has far more for each of them in personal gain to their career than Max has to loose in this race.

Hmm, let's see. I'm optimistic that Max is a wiser head and won't risk points. That's not to say he won't put up a fight, I just mean I don't think he will make hard binary choices in defence or attack because the championship is not a binary equation yet. Last year he could run his car into Lando and it was OK, because he was already ahead in the standings. if both drop points, Max wins, because it was one less race for Lando to catch up.

Yeah this is spot on. Max only does kamikaze moves when he has a slower car and has a lot to gain from said moves. In all the duals, whether people liked what he did or not, he ensured he got more points out in the end.

Right now there's not a lot to gain immediately as only time will tell if Red Bull will indeed have a competitive car to fight Maccas over the entire year.

[Farnborough]

Piastri is looking for "authority" within his own team though (same as Lando) and one of this teams complexities, played out now and here.

He and Lando have this multi facetted competition that's not a concern of the other two.

Makes it a different slant in reality for this team, but Piastri won't want to waste this opportunity in this race. It's possibly an easy win over Lando without controversy if he finishes substantial number of places ahead. He HAS to look at that.

[CjC]

I wonder if Norris will use his set of new softs at the start? All the talk has been about starting on the hard and going long but meters off the line could be more valuable and then he just runs the soft the same as everyone else’s medium

[Farnborough]

I wonder if Norris will use his set of new softs at the start? All the talk has been about starting on the hard and going long but meters off the line could be more valuable and then he just runs the soft the same as everyone else’s medium

I feel going this way at start has most to gain in that stack during first lap. Then to be pitting same as everyone else so on same real position in track space..

Then to see which tyre to go on based on this first stint. They need to take a risk though, and perhaps second guess those in immediate 4 positions in front of Lando for their tyre choice.