McLaren have a title-winning car – but one thing could cost them dear

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were all smiles in the pitlane afterwards but Piastri could have bagged second place in his home grand prix instead of ninth but for strange team orders - Kym Illman/Getty Images

McLaren and Lando Norris have started 2025 with a victory that should worry their rivals. Yes, Norris was under enormous pressure from Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the Australian Grand Prix, which he handled very well, but that was not fully representative of McLaren’s performance. Had there not been late safety cars, Norris and Oscar Piastri would have pulled away into the distance, as they did in the middle part of the race. Combine that with their front-row lockout on Saturday and it is clear that their rivals have work to do in 2025.

It is early days yet and there is plenty of time for Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes to improve and catch up, but the early signs are that McLaren have made a step with 2025’s MCL39. That is underlined more so when you consider that Bahrain – where they excelled in testing – and Albert Park are vastly different tracks. It is hard to get a car to warm up its tyres quickly, which is critical in qualifying, and also one that protects its tyres over a longer stint, crucial for races. The McLaren seems to be able to do that.

Where has this step come? After seeing the new McLaren in pre-season testing, I noted that the team had taken an aggressive approach with its anti-dive and anti-lift suspension. Yet this seems to be paying dividends. This means they are able to run the car mechanically softer, which helps preserve tyre life whilst also being able to keep the car stable under braking. Norris and Piastri were able to pull such a gap on Verstappen – 17 seconds by lap 32 – because they looked after their tyres better.

I do not necessarily think that McLaren have made a step with the car having more grip or making it more aerodynamically efficient. No, the advance has come in being able to run the car in a condition that suits these current ground-effect cars. For McLaren it is not about piling on downforce – which can sometimes make a car more sensitive – but rather getting the best from the car more often.

Norris leads Verstappen as they battle down the straight — McLaren have not piled on the downforce but have made the car more efficient - Clive Rose/Getty Images

The car is not perfect. We saw that in qualifying as both drivers made mistakes when pushing in Q3. Norris has also talked about the need to improve the stability of the rear end. That is the case with all good cars, though. You cannot just get in and muscle them to your will – there will be a certain way to drive it and get the best from it.

On the driver side of things, I am impressed with how Norris has matured, appearing to learn the harsh lessons of his first year at the front of the pack last season. There were too many mistakes in high-pressure scenarios in 2024 but there was barely a hint of that here. Were this last year he may have buckled under those numerous safety car restarts and shown some frustration too. This year he appears more settled, has the tools and talent to do the job and looks more likely to back that up with more robust and confident driving.

There is one note of caution I would sound about McLaren, though. Although I think they have learnt from their experiences last year too, I was worried about some of the radio calls when it came to Piastri and Norris battling at the front.

Piastri, who was chasing down leader Norris, was told to hold his position initially, before then being informed that he was free to race his team-mate. I would question why those two calls were made in the way they were.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris race each other — Piastri was later told he was free to race Norris - Joel Carrett/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

At that point they were both leaving Verstappen well behind. Why would you risk a potential one-two by letting your cars race in those conditions? We all want to see racing but once that gap closes up the risk level goes up enormously. Doing it in the dry is one thing but – as we saw with numerous crashes on Sunday with drivers spinning out off kerbs and painted lines – off-line was a different proposition to on the racing line. McLaren could easily have had both cars needlessly running off because they were battling.

In the end both cars did go off, though that was primarily because of the rain falling in the final sector. Some of it was because Piastri was so close to Norris, however. Firstly, Norris was under pressure and secondly, when you are so close to another car you tend to follow it like a magnet. Norris went off in the final sector and Piastri followed, ultimately ruining his race and McLaren’s hopes of a one-two finish. The turbulent air behind Norris would not have helped Piastri either.

DISASTER FOR MCLAREN AND OSCAR PIASTRI!

The rain hits and both papaya cars spin off the track, but Oscar finds himself stuck on the grass 🌀 pic.twitter.com/bnX9KG6OtB
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 16, 2025

In F1 a team can create its own set of circumstances but McLaren’s calls on Sunday seemed unnecessarily risky, however dominant their car was or may end up being. If Norris makes a mistake somewhere it is naturally fair that Piastri can overtake but you do not want to create a situation where you allow the guy in second to jeopardise the lead car’s race. They are in the same team and McLaren let or even invited one driver to hassle the other. It was a strange decision to make and is an area they need to address for the future.

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