The 2024 lessons that McLaren F1 must begin to put into practice

Red Bull was a formidable team in 2024, but a late improvement of McLaren threatened to overthrow the team and snatch the two titles, but finally they could only get the builders. Now, with a dominant car and two pilots in a great moment, Does McLaren the risk of again fail in its double objective?

The first six races of the season in 2024 and 2025 could not be more different for the papaya team. last year, McLaren struggled to be in the top five until an update at the Miami Grand Prix transformed his fate and helped Lando Norris achieve his first victory in F1. This year, the team has won all the great prizes except one thanks to its MCL39.

That does not mean that the team has already guaranteed the crown, since in the F1 the teams are only measured by the success of their last race, and rivals such as Mercedes and Red Bull will surely begin to cut distances as the updates arrive.

And once you begin to face stronger and more consistent cars for the victories in the race, McLaren cannot let the 2024 cracks say again on their weekends.

Those cracks in the McLaren armor materialized in some key moments during the 2024 season, which affected their chances of winning both titles. The problems on the track, such as decisions mistaken strategic y Slow box stopswere expensive, and errors by your pilots They appeared as a career.

In Canada 2024, Norris was able to win his second career, but the slowness of a change from intermediate to dry tires cost him a vital position on the track. In the end, the British was second and lost seven vital points for the championship.

A few weeks later, in Silverstone, Norris blamed a handful of erroneous decisions of the team during the Grand Prix for his third place, which means he lost another 10 points.

Then the Hungary Grand Prix arrived. The internal fights in McLaren were broadcast on the radio of the team, while Norris argued with his engineer, Will Joseph, about advancing Oscar Piestri to get his second victory in the F1. The British was told that “the way to win a World Cup is not for oneself, it is with the team”, and subsequently allowed Piastri to get his first victory in the F1.

If McLaren had overturned with Norris from that moment, or if the British had chosen to ignore the request of his team, he would have approached Max Verstappen at the top of the World Cup.

In 2025, McLaren is not the hunter and instead has a dominant advantage at the head of the builders classification. Piastri is also 16 points ahead of Norris in the pilot classification, who in turn has 16 points of advantage over Verstappen, which is third.

However, The advantage does not guarantee that McLaren gets the two crownsand there will come a time when the Papaya team has to support one of its pilots if you finally want to complete the double, the first for the team since 1998. At the moment, the team is still refusing to do so.

“I always say they are free to run, “said McLaren’s executive directorZak Brown, after the 2025 Miami Grand [correr]but it seems good to me. “

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

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The team director, Andrea Stella, echoed these comments when he warned that an “interesting situation” was coming for the team while Norris chased Pastri in the last bars of the Miami GP. In the end, Norris was still four seconds when the checkered flag fell, but Stella warned that a more closed battle surely “will arrive in the next races.”

The McLaren director is another opponent of the introduction of team ordersafter having previously warned that it could have “destroyed” future opportunities if McLaren had given Piastri orders to help his partner to maximize the points in 2024.

But, Could there be also disastrous results for the team in its fight for the two titles with this freer philosophy?

“We are trying to repeat the 2007,” Piastri joked after the Miami GP, when asked about the possibility of an internal battle as the season progresses. “We clearly know that we have our strengths and has always been very close to us.”

“So it will be a good battle, there will be weekends in which Lando is stronger, there will be weekends in which I am stronger, so it will be a good battle,” he added.

Whatever the battle that arises as the course progresses, it cannot be produced at the expense of McLaren’s position at the head of both championships. Norris and Piastri fighting in the lead could pave the way for a possible attack by Verstappen, which follows them closely, or even a Mercedes who is improving.

And, if the worst happens and the couple subtract points at the equipment level, McLaren could also see in check its possibilities of getting the constructors crown.

It is always a delicate issue for racing fans, but Surely McLaren will have to give some guideline to his pilots sooner or later.