2025 McLaren F1 Team

[Emag]

There could be safety cars in this track, we got plenty of rookies. And they're more likely to happen after the first round of stops where drivers usually get feisty to make undercuts work on new tires. The hard might be a good gamble for Lando. He should be able to overtake cars around him easily even if he loses 1-2 position at the start anyway, car is really good on traction even against the top teams, let alone the midfield.

I still can't believe the mistake yesterday honestly. To re-iterate, not only was it made at the only corner where he didn't need to overpush the car, as he already had a margin there, but what's even more dumbfounding is the fact that he goes for a make or break lap on the first run in Q3 instead of taking a more measured approach of setting a banker in and judge depending on gaps how much risk to take in that final run.

He needs to pull it together. As far as I am all for the more "human" and empathetic approach, I am glad Stella came out and called it as it was. The car should have been on pole here and neither driver put it there. These sort of performances and weird decisions could prove extremely costly in the long run.

[AR3-GP]

Mistakes at every weekend?

Hmmm, aside from the obvious poor qualy at Japan, in all the points scoring races so far he's done OK.

Aus - goes off track, damaged floor, still wins
China - Sprint qualy/sprint disaster
Japan - bad qualy laps, still qualified P2 within thousandths of pole
Bahrain - Bad qualy, messy race, still finish P3

Championship lead

The fact that you don’t even see or remember it further illustrates the point. Car so quick that the mistakes don’t cost much so no one remembers. In a 3 tenth slower car, he finishes much further down the order in most of these races as he wouldn’t be able to make up positions (China sprint, Bahrain), wouldn’t have the margin to drive a damaged car to win (Aus), and wouldn’t be able to underperform in qualy by 2-3 tenths (Japan) and still qualy P2.

[f1isgood]

I think Lando has two issues right now : His inability to get the maximum out of the car, and Oscar's ability to be close to him. Frankly, I am not even sure at this point if Oscar has taken a good step this year or if it's Lando's struggles that's masking the car's potential. It wouldn't surprise me one bit, if over the next few races Lando starts to go back to the Lando of last year versus Oscar. This isn't a shade on Oscar btw, he could just be very very good this year but I just don't know seeing Lando's performances so far.

Driver's do improve a lot admittedly but more and more I see Lando just not being able to get the best out of the car when it matters. I still think he's quicker than Oscar based on the evidence from the past but not quick enough to cover for his struggles so far this year. I also think he would be comfortably on pole by a couple of tenths if not for his mistake.

[f1isgood]

Mistakes at every weekend?

Hmmm, aside from the obvious poor qualy at Japan, in all the points scoring races so far he's done OK.

Aus - goes off track, damaged floor, still wins
China - Sprint qualy/sprint disaster
Japan - bad qualy laps, still qualified P2 within thousandths of pole
Bahrain - Bad qualy, messy race, still finish P3

Championship lead

The fact that you don’t even see or remember it further illustrates the point. Car so quick that the mistakes don’t cost much so no one remembers. In a 3 tenth slower car, he finishes much further down the order in most of these races.

Car so quick, after driver making said mistakes. There' a lot of potential *left* in that car me thinks.

[Emag]

I think Lando has two issues right now : His inability to get the maximum out of the car, and Oscar's ability to be close to him. Frankly, I am not even sure at this point if Oscar has taken a good step this year or if it's Lando's struggles that's masking the car's potential. It wouldn't surprise me one bit, if over the next few races Lando starts to go back to the Lando of last year versus Oscar. This isn't a shade on Oscar btw, he could just be very very good this year but I just don't know seeing Lando's performances so far.

Driver's do improve a lot admittedly but more and more I see Lando just not being able to get the best out of the car when it matters. I still think he's quicker than Oscar based on the evidence from the past but not quick enough to cover for his struggles so far this year. I also think he would be comfortably on pole by a couple of tenths if not for his mistake.

It's pretty clear this is not the Lando of last year. Oscar might have taken a step, but Lando is making mistakes more frequently with the added bonus of not even being able to put together amazing laps once in a while. It's a steep downgrade from where he left off last year.

[f1isgood]

I think Lando has two issues right now : His inability to get the maximum out of the car, and Oscar's ability to be close to him. Frankly, I am not even sure at this point if Oscar has taken a good step this year or if it's Lando's struggles that's masking the car's potential. It wouldn't surprise me one bit, if over the next few races Lando starts to go back to the Lando of last year versus Oscar. This isn't a shade on Oscar btw, he could just be very very good this year but I just don't know seeing Lando's performances so far.

Driver's do improve a lot admittedly but more and more I see Lando just not being able to get the best out of the car when it matters. I still think he's quicker than Oscar based on the evidence from the past but not quick enough to cover for his struggles so far this year. I also think he would be comfortably on pole by a couple of tenths if not for his mistake.

It's pretty clear this is not the Lando of last year. Oscar might have taken a step, but Lando is making mistakes more frequently with the added bonus of not even being able to put together amazing laps once in a while. It's a steep downgrade from where he left off last year.

Yeah, pretty much what I wanted to say but you said it very concisely and precisely.

[Ben1980]

There could be safety cars in this track, we got plenty of rookies. And they're more likely to happen after the first round of stops where drivers usually get feisty to make undercuts work on new tires. The hard might be a good gamble for Lando. He should be able to overtake cars around him easily even if he loses 1-2 position at the start anyway, car is really good on traction even against the top teams, let alone the midfield.

I still can't believe the mistake yesterday honestly. To re-iterate, not only was it made at the only corner where he didn't need to overpush the car, as he already had a margin there, but what's even more dumbfounding is the fact that he goes for a make or break lap on the first run in Q3 instead of taking a more measured approach of setting a banker in and judge depending on gaps how much risk to take in that final run.

He needs to pull it together. As far as I am all for the more "human" and empathetic approach, I am glad Stella came out and called it as it was. The car should have been on pole here and neither driver put it there. These sort of performances and weird decisions could prove extremely costly in the long run.

They said it stemmed from not being close enough to the wall, which through him out towards the kerbs. I saw Max was basically rubbing the wall at that point.

Is not getting close enough a sign of to aggressive or not aggressive enough? The argument is he went to much for ir, but it seems that he probably didn't do it enough.

It can't be both.

[mwillems]

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.

I'm sure Piastri also won't doing anything stupid, but there's little doubt in my mind that if he gets a sniff them he'll go for it, I'm not sure that Piastri would ease off his attempts to pass max just because he would be ahead of Lando. I'm certain he has his eye on a WDC.

but hey, who knows, this is getting very subjective now and we'll see what happens I guess lol

[mwillems]

Mistakes at every weekend?

Hmmm, aside from the obvious poor qualy at Japan, in all the points scoring races so far he's done OK.

Aus - goes off track, damaged floor, still wins
China - Sprint qualy/sprint disaster
Japan - bad qualy laps, still qualified P2 within thousandths of pole
Bahrain - Bad qualy, messy race, still finish P3

Championship lead

The fact that you don’t even see or remember it further illustrates the point. Car so quick that the mistakes don’t cost much so no one remembers. In a 3 tenth slower car, he finishes much further down the order in most of these races as he wouldn’t be able to make up positions (China sprint, Bahrain), wouldn’t have the margin to drive a damaged car to win (Aus), and wouldn’t be able to underperform in qualy by 2-3 tenths (Japan) and still qualy P2.

You know me, I'm not easy to jump in and defend Lando, but most went off in Australia at some point lol Dude recovered and held off Max with a damaged car. I was happy with that.

Sprint, is fair enough, I don't count sprints personally but every point helps.

Japan was a sub optimal Q but the idea that the RB is not pretty close to the Mclaren when it isn't being difficult should be pretty much dispelled now, in my opinion. Red Bull clearly has wings, and some flaws that make it tricky, but by and large the car is fine.

Bahrain definately, yes. Without doubt there was another 15 points for Lando if his driving was better. But the fact that if you make a mistake that someone can make you pay is exactly why this car isn't dominant, in my view.

[sn809]

I thinks its Oscar's WDC this year.
This race should prove if Ocsar has it. If he plays the smart game, its a win for him and the team and he takes the championship lead

[Gargoil]

Lando is definitely under pressure; the expectations on him are far greater than those on Oscar. It's the beginning of the season, and I'm sure Lando will learn to live with it.

And here's the translated follow-up message I wrote, in case you want that too:

You’ve hit an important point. Lando Norris carries huge expectations, especially as he's now seen as the cornerstone on which McLaren wants to build its future. The contract renewal, his charisma, the experience with the team… all of it means he’s under a different kind of pressure compared to Piastri.
Oscar, while very fast, is still in a development phase, which gives him more room to make mistakes or learn. Lando, on the other hand, is expected to make that final step towards victory, and every race feels like a test.
It’s only the beginning. Lando has already shown he’s mentally very strong, and with a competitive car under him, he’ll definitely prove his worth under pressure.

[AR3-GP]

Mistakes at every weekend?

Hmmm, aside from the obvious poor qualy at Japan, in all the points scoring races so far he's done OK.

Aus - goes off track, damaged floor, still wins
China - Sprint qualy/sprint disaster
Japan - bad qualy laps, still qualified P2 within thousandths of pole
Bahrain - Bad qualy, messy race, still finish P3

Championship lead

The fact that you don’t even see or remember it further illustrates the point. Car so quick that the mistakes don’t cost much so no one remembers. In a 3 tenth slower car, he finishes much further down the order in most of these races as he wouldn’t be able to make up positions (China sprint, Bahrain), wouldn’t have the margin to drive a damaged car to win (Aus), and wouldn’t be able to underperform in qualy by 2-3 tenths (Japan) and still qualy P2.

You know me, I'm not easy to jump in and defend Lando, but most went off in Australia at some point lol Dude recovered and held off Max with a damaged car. I was happy with that.

Sprint, is fair enough, I don't count sprints personally but every point helps.

Japan was a sub optimal Q but the idea that the RB is not pretty close to the Mclaren when it isn't being difficult should be pretty much dispelled now, in my opinion. Red Bull clearly has wings, and some flaws that make it tricky, but by and large the car is fine.

Bahrain definately, yes. Without doubt there was another 15 points for Lando if his driving was better. But the fact that if you make a mistake that someone can make you pay is exactly why this car isn't dominant, in my view.

You can't brush away Australia because you're "happy". Mclaren had so much performance that a damaged floor didn't matter. What did he recover in a car that had almost 6 tenths advantage in qualy (they botched the bankers so couldn't risk the 2nd run and only managed 4 tenths gap). That's why he "held on". 3 tenth slower car and Max and George are probably past after the safety car.

My point is Lando hasn't "paid" anything and that's exactly showing that the car is dominant. He's leading the championship relatively comfortably for 4 races into the season despite other drivers driving leagues better, being the worst rated of top 4 drivers unanimously in media driver ratings, and him making mistakes every single weekend. You and others even confess that this Lando is not the one of last year, let alone of the one of 2021... my god is it really this hard to admit?

[mwillems]

You can't brush away Australia because you're "happy". Mclaren had so much performance that a damaged floor didn't matter. What did he recover in a car that had almost 6 tenths advantage in qualy (they botched the bankers so couldn't risk the 2nd run and only managed 4 tenths gap). That's why he "held on". 3 tenth slower car and Max and George are probably past after the safety car.

My point is Lando hasn't "paid" anything and that's exactly showing that the car is dominant. He's leading the championship relatively comfortably for 4 races into the season despite other drivers driving leagues better, being the worst rated of top 4 drivers unanimously in media driver ratings, and him making mistakes every single weekend. You and others even confess that this Lando is not the one of last year, let alone of the one of 2021... my god is it really this hard to admit?

Admit what, exactly?

I am brushing Australia away because of the conditions. Max had one tremendous race and has certainly been better than Lando, but I don't think Max or George are getting the absolute maximum out of the car either but you are fixated only on Lando's performance.

I am the first one to be completely honest, but you are being a bit over the top in my opinion. We could be further ahead, but not by miles that is for sure and if we were actually 15 points ahead in the drivers championship, I still wouldn't call it dominant.

This car is nothing like the dominant Mercs or Red Bulls, the gap nowhere near as big. They could cruise off to a 30 second lead within a few laps and bring it home calmly after that. We don't really get that cushion, but if we get 5 seconds ahead people say we stop pushing and there's more in the car.

If your totally interested in the media, it's pretty much a widespread opinion that the Mclaren is only a little better than the RB and Merc.

Let's come back to this one in the future. I have no doubt that time will tell and the general narrative when looking back was that the car had dominance in some very specific but not that common scenarios. And yes, Lando is not the man to lead Mclaren. Of that I haven't had any doubt a few years.

[AR3-GP]

Admit what, exactly?

Mclaren advantage is 3 tenths minimum, even more when it's hot.

I am brushing Australia away because of the conditions. Max had one tremendous race and has certainly been better than Lando, but I don't think Max or George are getting the absolute maximum out of the car either but you are fixated only on Lando's performance.

This is Formula 1. Water on the track is not an excuse.

This car is nothing like the dominant Mercs or Red Bulls, the gap nowhere near as big.

Because the drivers make it look bad almost every weekend...

Let's come back to this one in the future. I have no doubt that time will tell and the general narrative when looking back was that the car had dominance in some very specific but not that common scenarios. And yes, Lando is not the man to lead Mclaren. Of that I haven't had any doubt a few years.

There isn't a reason to come back to this in the future because in the future the playing table will have changed. Mclaren is dominant now and the drivers have largely just under delivered. I'm not making any promises for the future after updates in Imola and the TD in Spain.

[BMMR61]

The downside to the one-eyed patriotic British fan is on full display IMO. Brutal takedowns on Lando with a one dimensional vision. It has to be fair a very patchy start to the year, some good, some really poor. He said the new car is difficult and hinted that it has a way of biting. On his side of it, Oscar sort of awkwardly avoids criticising the car on these lines, yet giving the impression that it is tricky to get the best from.

Suddenly there is this really strong McLaren fan entitlement coming back "we have a dominant car and they should be scoring 1-2s everywhere" sort of attitude. My take, and it's only my opinion based on looking at all the sessions on 5 tracks in varying conditions, is the car's one lap advantage is at times slim to non-existent, at best times up to 2.5 seconds. The real ace is long run pace, absolutely excellent, hotter conditions the better. Cooler conditions Mercedes are right there. Fastest corners RedBull is very strong. It's an intriguing battle between four drivers in three different cars.

Jeddah is a circuit that rewards the brave, punishes the foolhardy - a fine line. Lando stepped over it once too often and his tactical nous WRT how to approach Q3 was really foolish. So much made of Oscar being the slower of the two but he was only a tenth off in Q1 and 0.06 in Q2 - enough to hint he was slightly more measured on a track that bites and he is playing a long game, a championship game.