McLaren will be hoping that their winter developments have been enough to keep them at the front of the Formula 1 pack ahead of their rivals in 2025.
Lando Norris finished as runner-up to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in 2024 after a slow start to the season which cost them too much ground to recover from.
McLaren did finish the season with the best car, and after some aggressive upgrades during the off-season, should be in contention for both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships this year.
As is the case with any new part, there’s a risk that it may not work or it could add problems for Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri, but it can’t backfire too badly for them at this stage.
The 2026 F1 regulations are around the corner and it means that the majority of the grid is already moving their focus to the new cars.
McLaren have made an aggressive change for Norris’ 2025 F1 car in a bid to extract more downforce from the chassis.
McLaren’s ‘big step’ could backfire in 2025 and leave Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in danger
McLaren’s nearest competitors in 2025 are likely to be Ferrari and Red Bull, although Mercedes should be in the equation too.
Gary Anderson feels McLaren have taken bigger steps than Ferrari with their 2025 car, which bodes well for a strong start to the season.
READ MORE: Lando Norris must ‘earn the right’ to force McLaren decision Oscar Piastri does not want
With pre-season testing around the corner, The Race’s Scott Mitchell-Malm has warned that their changes could backfire if they are too extreme.
“Testing will give us the first idea of whether any aggressive approaches have been undone,” he said. “The best example at the front is McLaren, which looks to have gone a big step further with its anti-dive solution on the front suspension.
“This is a layout change to be even stricter with how much the front of the car dives down under braking. But if McLaren has gone too far, the drivers may have trouble with brake feel.
“Bahrain will expose that with a couple of choice heavy braking areas. This approach might just as well undo McLaren, as it may keep it at the head of the pack. Bahrain will give us the first answers.”
Lando Norris put on a masterclass in deflection at F1 75 event
Although it’s pretty clear that McLaren should start the season as favourites for both titles, it doesn’t mean that they’re willing to sit back and accept it.
Norris put on a ‘masterclass in deflection’ at F1 75 and managed to avoid any questions which put McLaren in the spotlight for the title fight.
READ MORE: Fan footage shows how McLaren star Lando Norris reacted to the FIA being booed at F1 75
He’s aware that this could be his best-ever chance to claim a drivers’ crown, but he faces a more experienced and determined teammate in ever with Piastri across the garage.
It could come down to the final race in Abu Dhabi for the first time since 2021, which would be a coincidence when remembering that the last time the regulations were about to be changed in 2021 the same thing happened.
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