McLaren have enjoyed a brilliant start to the 2025 Formula 1 season but a lot of work remains if they are to secure their first title double since 1998.
The Woking-based outfit have won five of the opening seven Grands Prix, while both of their drivers lead the way in the drivers’ championship.
Oscar Piastri is delivering on the promise he has shown for the last two years and is turning it into trophies every weekend. McLaren couldn’t be happier with his performance.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris has taken a bit of a step back and is in the shadow of his younger teammate, who has scored 13 more points than him.
Norris has a McLaren car ‘problem’ and it doesn’t appear that there will be a quick fix for his woes. It’s going to be up to him to find some form.
Otherwise, he will continue to lag behind, with Piastri already having ‘overcome’ one issue that the Brit still suffers from – making bigger mistakes.
READ MORE: Oscar Piastri still doesn’t think he’s as fast as 31-podium F1 driver despite blistering 2025 start
Guenther Steiner doesn’t ‘buy’ McLaren’s public message about the 2025 F1 championship race
Norris ‘proved’ his doubters wrong in Imola by facing no struggles overtaking his rivals during the race. It’s an area of his racecraft which had drawn criticism before the European leg of the season began.
It’s a welcome improvement and something which should help him against Piastri as the season progresses. The 2026 F1 regulations are a long cry away, and there’s a title on the table now. He doesn’t know whether this is going to be his only ever shot at a crown.
Ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner doesn’t buy the narrative that McLaren have pushed out this year that they are not focused on the battle between their drivers.
Being focused on only the constructors’ championship feels a bit short-sighted, but the expectation remains that they will win both.
“Do you buy this narrative that they don’t care about the drivers’ championship and they’re really just focused on the constructors’?” questioned Matt Elisofon.
“No, I don’t buy it because you want to win as much as possible,” replied Steiner. “You cannot not care about the drivers’ championship because you want that as well. Normally if you win the constructors’, the drivers’ comes with it normally.
“Last year it was an exception because you’ve got Max in a car where there is only one guy which can win with that car, the other one struggled. Therefore, Red Bull lost it.”
READ MORE: Lando Norris says Max Verstappen ‘clearly’ had one advantage over McLaren during post-race Imola radio message
The 2025 McLaren F1 statistic which suggests they will win both titles
After just seven races, McLaren have already managed five victories. The last time they managed that was over 25 years ago in 1998.
What else happened that season? It was the last time they won both titles, as mentioned earlier. They’ve achieved that feat less than a third of the way into the season.
It shows just how far they have come recently, and how hard everyone back at base has worked to get them to the top again.
David Coulthard says Norris reminded him of Max Verstappen after he pulled a solid performance out while on the back foot.
All he needs to do is remain consistent and it’ll be his name etched into the history books at the end of the campaign.
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