Lando Norris is one of the clear favourites for the 2025 title. McLaren feel confident about the pace of the MCL39.
The Woking-based outfit won the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1998 last season. The team had taken a huge step forward with development, boasting arguably the fastest package after Norris claimed his maiden F1 win in Miami.
The Brit took the fight to Max Verstappen in the second half of the season but missed out by 63 points. McLaren are eager to challenge for the drivers’ championship from the start as they come into 2025 with the fastest package.
Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri’s 2025 challenger – the MCL39 – feature several aggressive changes, including the front suspension. McLaren’s ‘big step’ could be a risk in 2025 as their development could backfire if they go too extreme with the concept.
But the feeling is that the team have stayed ahead. Gary Anderson thinks McLaren have taken bigger steps than Ferrari – the latter were the former’s closest challengers in 2024, losing the constructors’ title by 14 points.
While the like of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes will hope they can compete at the front this season, they will be afraid when they see Norris’ data from pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Lando Norris would have won by 12 seconds with his race simulation on day two in Bahrain
Norris set the pace on day one in Bahrain, running in the afternoon session while Piastri ran in the morning. Lap times cannot be taken too seriously at this stage due to drivers and teams running different programmes.
This is evidenced by the fact that Norris was 14th by the end of day two, but would have set the fastest time had he not aborted his lap on two occasions. The 25-year-old ran a race simulation towards the end of the day along with Ferrari and Mercedes.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration
Journalist Mark Hughes assessed the numbers on The Race F1 Podcast – and McLaren’s rivals will be concerned by the team’s pace. Norris would have won the race by 12 seconds over Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli.
Naturally, there are some factors to take into account such as Norris running the C1 tyre – the softest compound – in his final stint compared to the C2 of Leclerc and Antonelli. Nevertheless, it is clear McLaren are the ones to watch and it will leave their rivals worried about their true potential.
Discussing the simulations, Hughes said: “There was a moment late in the afternoon where McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes all did very comparable race simulations.
“They did a two-stop race simulation divided up into roughly equal length of stints, so about 51 laps. The race would be 57 laps but in the time available, they divided the stints up into a total of 51 laps.
“And looking at that, and it’s just a numbers simulation, it’s not necessarily definitive. But looking at that, Lando Norris would have won by 12 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, with Kimi Antonelli a further two seconds behind the Ferrari. That’s just on the numbers.
“There’s a bit of a complication on that. McLaren ran the C1 tyre in the final stint whereas the other two ran the C2 tyre and he was a lot faster. His advantage over them was a lot more on that tyre than had been the case when he was on the same tyre.”
Jolyon Palmer does not have Lando Norris to win the title
Norris will be one of, if not the favourite to become champion in 2025. The Brit will have learned from battling Verstappen last season how to challenge for a title.
The Red Bull driver is looking to become only the second driver after Michael Schumacher to win five consecutive championships. Verstappen does not have the advantage he once had with his car but has plenty of skill and talent in his racecraft.
Jolyon Palmer thinks Norris lacks Verstappen’s ‘championship instinct’, with the Dutchman able to show his ‘ruthlessness’ to fight for the title.
Norris will be better prepared for 2025 and clearly has the pace already to strike fear into his rivals. The only question now is whether he can take advantage when the lights go out for the Australian Grand Prix.
Leave feedback about this