Lando Norris had a quietly confident demeanour at F1 testing. He enters the season as favourite for the first time, but seems comfortable with that tag.
Ruth-Buscombe Divey believes McLaren have the fastest car based on Norris’ expression. He was ‘rather smirky’ after his final laps in the car pre-Melbourne on Friday morning.
It’s obvious that the Englishman hasn’t yet shown his true speed. When every driver’s best lap time is collected, he only ranks 17th on a 1:30.882 – 1.5 seconds off Carlos Sainz’s ultimate benchmark.
Oscar Piastri threatened to reveal McLaren’s potential on the final day when he posted purple sectors, but a mistake ruined his lap. It was Norris’ long-run pace that got the paddock talking, though.
Norris frightened McLaren’s rivals with a race simulation that would have seen him win the Bahrain Grand Prix by 12 seconds. He collected four victories last year, three of them in dominant fashion from pole.
Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz was wowed by the new McLaren, which features innovative new parts. The team have been bold in their approach despite winning the world championship, which would typically lend itself to caution.
Red Bull think they could be this far behind McLaren at the Australian Grand Prix
According to The Race, some are ‘very worried’ about McLaren’s pace. The 2025 season is forecast to be one of the closest ever, but the narrative may now be shifting.
Speaking on Autosport’s YouTube channel, journalist Ronald Vording relayed an ominous message from Red Bull. They feel they’re competing with Mercedes and Ferrari for a best-of-the-rest role behind McLaren.
“Everyone in the paddock agrees,” Vording said. “I just talked to some people from Red Bull, they also said it seems to be really close behind McLaren.
“But they say McLaren seem to be a bit ahead. They don’t how much ahead – it could be two-tenths, it could be five-tenths – but they are the team to beat.”
Vording couldn’t put an exact figure on McLaren’s advantage. But Auto Motor und Sport’s Michael Schmidt has heard that they could be put four-tenths clear of Red Bull.
“You hear internally at Red Bull, they are expecting a three to four-tenth difference,” Schmidt said. “That would be a lot when you consider how close they were last year.”
This is a truly seismic claim. It suggests Norris may not only have a contending car this year – he may have a dominant one.
Lando Norris will feel even better when he sees what Max Verstappen did on camera at testing
McLaren’s 2025 car may not be legal, based on observations from Pierre Wache. The Red Bull technical director says the team are still using the ‘mini DRS’ trick the FIA have tried to outlaw.
There was fierce debate in the F1 paddock over the MCL38 last season, and its successor may be just as controversial. Under the rules, the gap between rear-wing elements must remain the same at all times.
As for the front wings, the FIA are reducing the permitted flexibility levels from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards. Kravitz says the rule change could suit Red Bull, but they need to improve their own car to take full advantage.
Max Verstappen was seen shaking his head after a push lap on Friday, which should give Norris more confidence. He failed to fully capitalise on the handling gremlins in the RB20 last year.
