McLaren won their first F1 constructors’ title since 1998 in 2024, but Gary Anderson fears one decision for 2025 may leave Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri compromised.
The Woking crew endured many difficult seasons in recent years but returned to the summit of Formula 1 last term. McLaren are historically one of the most successful outfits to ever hit the grid with their 2024 triumph the team’s ninth title – only Ferrari have won more with 16.
Winning back-to-back titles before F1’s 2026 regulation changes come into force would also see McLaren defend the constructors’ championship for the first time since 1991. Norris and Piastri will also dream McLaren build a drivers’ title-winning car for the first time since 2008.
McLaren must ‘be careful’ improving their slow corner pace in 2025
Norris almost brought McLaren’s wait for their first Formula 1 drivers’ champion since Lewis Hamilton to an end last year. The 25-year-old emerged as a title contender for the first time, but his challenge came too late to prevent Max Verstappen from winning his fourth in a row.
The turning point for both was Norris winning his first F1 race at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix after McLaren introduced their first major set of upgrades. McLaren gave Norris a new front wing, front and rear suspension, front and rear brakes, floor edge and sidepod inlets to race.
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But F1 technical expert Anderson fears McLaren may compromise Norris and Piastri in 2025 in their search for further improvements. The ex-technical director of the Jordan and Jaguar teams thinks McLaren must ‘be careful’ developing their package for slow corners this term.
Anderson told The Race: “If McLaren keep doing what they did in the latter part of 2024, which was built on a sound understanding of what these ground-effect cars need to go quickly, then they will be the favourite for this year’s title.
“Improving in slow corners is a target, but you have to be careful that doesn’t come at the expense of high-speed stability.”
Lando Norris pinpointed McLaren’s slow-speed corner weakness
McLaren only gave Norris all of their upgrades at the Miami Grand Prix with Piastri running their initial specification except for running their new front wing, suspension and brakes. It was not until the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola that Piastri received the full package.
But the Emilia Romagna GP was also one round where McLaren’s package struggled in slow corners and possibly cost Norris a chance to take back-to-back Grand Prix victories. He took the chequered flag just 0.725 seconds behind Verstappen after struggling for pace early on.
After Verstappen held off Norris to win the Emilia Romagna GP, the McLaren ace noted: “My worst corner [at Imola] was Turn 14-15 [Variante Alta], the slowest part of the circuit. That’s where I was losing most of my time. So, we still have that as a weakness and we know that.”
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