Bernie Collins says £77k-a-week F1 driver was so fast even his own team were ‘caught out’

Several F1 drivers would put themselves forward as the most improved on the grid ahead of the 2025 season. The obvious answer would be Lando Norris, who scored the first four wins of his career last year and doubled his podium tally.

But equally, one might say Norris already had the speed to achieve those accolades. He was just waiting for the car, and McLaren finally provided it.

Looking further down the grid, Yuki Tsunoda might have a case. He couldn’t quite set a personal best for points – he was two short of the 32 he scored in 2021 – but he did record his highest championship position to date in P12.

What was most impressive was Tsunoda’s performance relative to his teammates. He beat Daniel Ricciardo so convincingly that the Australian’s Red Bull dream was extinguished for good, and he also defeated Liam Lawson 5-0 in qualifying and 4-1 in the races.

However, in the estimation of Christian Horner and co, that still wasn’t enough to earn a promotion. So perhaps the most improved title ought to go to Oscar Piastri instead.

Piastri had shown promise in the second half of his rookie year with a couple of podium finishes. Still, very few expected him to amass nearly 300 points in his sophomore season en route to fourth in the championship.

McLaren weren’t ‘ready’ for Oscar Piastri to be so quick

Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, former F1 race strategist Bernie Collins says McLaren were ‘caught out’ by Piastri’s unexpected turn of speed. He marked himself out as an elite talent by winning the F3 and F2 titles, but he was a long way behind Norris in 2023.

The Englishman more than doubled his teammate’s points haul (205 vs 93) at first, but last year, Piastri was responsible for 43.8% of McLaren’s tally. He helped them win the constructors’ title for the first time since 1998.

This, however, created a problem. McLaren ‘weren’t quite ready’ for the team orders headache that manifested itself above all in Hungary, Italy and Brazil.

Collins believes Zak Brown and Andrea Stella will maintain parity in the garage at the start of the season. But she thinks they could make a call on which driver to prioritise as early as late April/early May.

“Potentially, McLaren were caught out because Oscar was better than expected,” Collins said. “Two years ago, he’d been pretty good in qualifying, but lacking in the race. This year, he stepped up in the race, and I think they weren’t quite ready for it.

“What’s going to be really interesting is how they start 2025. What I expect to happen is that they’re going to start even. And then, at the race five or six, look at the championship position, and go ‘this is where we are’.”

McLaren have now made their team orders decision for the 2025 season

Going by salary alone, there’s a clear hierarchy within McLaren. Norris earns an initial £9.5m per year, which rose to £27.5m last term due to bonuses.

Piastri pockets a guaranteed £4.5m, or £77k per week, though that increased to £17.5m. His deal runs until the end of 2026, at which point he may negotiate a similar deal to Norris.

Both drivers have a clear shot at winning the world championship this year. One pundit believes Piastri will be Norris’ ‘biggest problem’, rather than the title holder Max Verstappen.

Indeed, as Collins predicted, McLaren will prioritise the constructors’ championship this year. That means neither driver will be able to count on team orders, at least until they establish themselves as the lead contender.