McLaren came close to snatching the Drivers’ Championship off Max Verstappen in 2024, after Lando Norris began to close his points gap from the start of the season.
Despite wins at the Miami, Netherlands and Singapore, the championship challenge from Norris would be derailed by a series of errors from the Briton, enabling Verstappen to clinch it in Qatar with one round left.
McLaren eventually had to employ team orders between their two drivers, after they nearly came to blows at the Italian Grand Prix. The team implemented ‘papaya rules’ in the race, which effectively means they must leave extra space when going wheel-to-wheel on track.
Norris was later helped by Piastri when he allowed him to win the Brazil GP Sprint race and close the points gap to Verstappen, although the Dutchman would go on to put in a blistering performance on Sunday during the race and win from P17 on the grid.
As McLaren enters 2025, the prospect of both Norris and Piastri being in with a chance of the title is high. Former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner believes they will have learned a lot about how to handle this in 2024, when speaking on the GP Fans podcast.
Guenther Steiner thinks McLaren will have learned how to deal with team orders after 2024
Steiner has already said that McLaren must pick Norris or Piastri as their number-one driver early on in 2025, to avoid losing out to another team.
McLaren’s 2025 challenger will be an evolution of their 2024 car, which means they should be the fastest team out of the box. Steiner believes they will have learned a lot on how to handle their season, having previously struggled with team orders.
“As far as I know they have got equal status, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris,” said Steiner.
“I think McLaren learned out of last year that at some point, if they are where I think they are, they will put emphasis on the guy who will win the world championship and the first races the two of them will fight to be that guy.”
Can Ferrari be stronger than McLaren in 2025?
The prospect of having another McLaren versus Ferrari showdown in 2025 looks high, especially as both teams finished as the two fastest cars last year.
Red Bull still needs to sort out their problems overhanging from the RB20, while Mercedes are still far off the pace having switched car concepts again last season.
READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine
Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari is one of the biggest stories this season, as he goes for a record eighth world title, and he will be hoping their car is competitive.
With the experienced Charles Leclerc aiding their car development, it is likely to be a question of who outdevelops who on track.
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