2025 McLaren F1 Team

[Watto]

Yep, I think this would be the first race where I didn't really think the McLaren was probably not the best car - or at least the margins were super thin.

Landos crash, yeah for that reason I would obviously give Oscar the higher rating think you got those scores pretty spot on, no doubt in traffic hurt Oscar more than Lando, had he got ahead of Kimi, I have no doubt it would have cleared in within a few laps but probably only a few tenths a lap.


Assessing the two was probably tricky too, I though Lando over the weekend was probably more impressive but the 2 moments it mattered Oscar had him covered in Q3 and the crash - how many times in recent years have we seen Max or Lewis pull out a lap or defend the lead like that when the pressure seemed on or they seemed a little off countless and I think its a huge tool for Oscar. I like that Lando tried a surprise move but that he missed when to pull in on the risk, he had opportunity to back out of that is a little telling too .

[PikeStance]

I didn't read all of the comments. I was at the track. I was at a 45-degree angle to Norris' crash. I was unlucky as I videoed the previous lap. I honestly thought Norris was trying to get the best possible angle into turn 1. A lot of cars hugged the outside line. From my vantage point, I can see both cars approaching the final chicane. Then I lose track of them until they are halfway to the finish line. I just noted it was Norris on the outside when he passed, and then bam. It looks like if you lit a match, but it didn't flame, it just sparked.

I do not know what was up with Piastri. He could not get any pace. Norris on the hand almost felt inevitable he would catch Russel. At the track, they give you the distance to the leader. That number went down on virtually every lap.

Personally, I disagree with Stella. Norris was quicker and he should have been allowed to pass Piastri. As far as I am concerned, it is not even halftime yet. You never pull back before halftime. You pile on the points. Car upgrades can easily mean that huge lead can dwindle. Heck, McLaren is a case study for that last year. I am not sure if Norris could have overtaken Russel, but he definitely had the pace to pass Kimi and Max. He would have most likely lost time and laps getting passed both.

Ultimately, this is Norris sabotaging his championship by not putting together a solid Q3. If he had been in the front row, Norris would have run away with this one by at least 15 seconds. This is just my observation looking at the distance to Russel on the board. I do not know the actual lap times.

I think it's not unreasonable to say Lando had a more optimum strategy, not to say he didn't handle it very well. The two McLarens were never on the same or similar delta, fair to say that Lando enjoyed more clear air, and Oscar had a very unlucky run through traffic in the last stint. Every time he drew close to Kimi he got blocked by a lapped car. The pace between the two was pretty close - of the order of 0.1 seconds a lap average. Nobody was going to challenge Russell and getting past Kimi was always going to be tough, that car had a new PU and he was driving better the further the race went. I agree with most else you say, but the Mercedes was the class this weekend from day 1. Only on the fully rubbered track and on low fuel was the McLaren a match.

The two best drivers this weekend throughout the practices and up to Q3 were LeClerc and Norris. Unfortunately, both of them laid an egg in Q3. Russel was probably the third best with Piastri and Verstappen rounding out the best of the rest. Russell was fortunate that he had both Verstappen, Antonelli, and Piastri behind him. If LeClerc and Norris had been on the front row, then they would have rocketed passed everyone this weekend (assuming the Ferrari garage crew don't score it up for him, LOL). If Norris hadn't had the unfortunate incident, he would/ should have been the driver of the day hands down. That being said, Russell had a solid race, and he blew everyone away on his final Q3 lap. Verstappen seems to have a very hard time keeping his tires alive when he has to follow another car.

Anyway, Norris has a strong affinity for Austria, and he always races well there.

[BMMR61]

Peculiar view on Leclerc if I may venture an opinion. Best in practice? He took himself out of FP1 and 2 with a rookie error and while he bounced back well in FP3 - too many errors creeping in. Anyway this is a McLaren forum but I think Montreal was a re-levelling of the order and Ferrari didn't look as bad as many pundits spoke, poor decisions and that pesky furry creature. A tricky weekend for most, as is often the case at a low grip, high jeopardy track like this.

[basti313]

The two best drivers this weekend throughout the practices and up to Q3 were LeClerc and Norris.

This thread is awesome. Always surprising jokes.
You saw, that Lec crashed badly, did not take part in FP2 and just had more tires left for FP3? You also saw, that Norris similarly bottled his banker lap in Q1 as in Q3?
Taking the two most messy drivers over the weekend as the best is funny.

If Norris hadn't had the unfortunate incident, he would/ should have been the driver of the day hands down.

What? Why?

Verstappen seems to have a very hard time keeping his tires alive when he has to follow another car.

Well, that is the usual thing and it was just not smart. The better set up drivers, Ant, Nor, Pia, Lec as examples at the front had their 2 sec gaps by around lap 3. Ver, Alo and Ham tried to stay close, all of them suffered from this. This is how the overcut of Lec vs. Ham worked and how Ant two times got close to Ver....Ver grilled his tires at the beginning of the stint.
This is also what gives so much nonsense on the pace comparison between Nor and Pia. Nor was not faster, not at any stage. Both were driving quite precise 2 sec gaps until. Pia until Ant pitted for the second time. Nor did not have more pace in free air over 30 laps (from Ham pit until his second pit stop).
For me it is a bit the question, if it was the correct strategy to not attack at all. Always this precise 2 sec gap to manage out a tire advantage in the end. The lap where Ver pitted would have been the correct time to pit for Pia as well. He had the strongest car in the second stint anyways.

[PikeStance]

This thread is awesome. Always surprising jokes.
You saw, that Lec crashed badly, did not take part in FP2 and just had more tires left for FP3? You also saw, that Norris similarly bottled his banker lap in Q1 as in Q3?
Taking the two most messy drivers over the weekend as the best is funny.

Can you be more obnoxious?
You do realize I mentioned everything you had mentioned above. My point still stands. If they put it together in Q3, they had the best chance at being 1/2.

IWhat? Why?

Did you not read what I wrote? Seriously...
Norris was flying on nearly every lap. I do not know the lap time, but the gap between him and Russel was mostly going down. I explained in more detail above.

Verstappen seems to have a very hard time keeping his tires alive when he has to follow another car.

Well, that is the usual thing and it was just not smart. The better set up drivers, Ant, Nor, Pia, Lec as examples at the front had their 2 sec gaps by around lap 3. Ver, Alo and Ham tried to stay close, all of them suffered from this. This is how the overcut of Lec vs. Ham worked and how Ant two times got close to Ver....Ver grilled his tires at the beginning of the stint.
This is also what gives so much nonsense on the pace comparison between Nor and Pia. Nor was not faster, not at any stage. Both were driving quite precise 2 sec gaps until. Pia until Ant pitted for the second time. Nor did not have more pace in free air over 30 laps (from Ham pit until his second pit stop).
For me it is a bit the question, if it was the correct strategy to not attack at all. Always this precise 2 sec gap to manage out a tire advantage in the end. The lap where Ver pitted would have been the correct time to pit for Pia as well. He had the strongest car in the second stint anyways.
[/quote]
Piastri was nowhere in that race. Piastri went backwards. LeClerc and Norris bang Q3, and Piastri is on the third row. I doubt Piastri would have done much this weekend.

We are Mclaren fans here, so I have no idea why you feel the need to be an %^&^$ about this. Be more respectful in the future, or I will simply ignore you!

A good rule, write to people as if they're standing right in front of you, and they are built like a bodybuilder with a bad temperament. This reminds a time I ran into a fellow football fan. I share my opinion on a player and he lost his crap like you. I excused myself to get a beer and ignore the jerk for the rest of the event. I just get how people treat fans of the same team so poorly. Heck, I even talk nicely to rivals of teams as well.

[PikeStance]

Peculiar view on Leclerc if I may venture an opinion. Best in practice? He took himself out of FP1 and 2 with a rookie error and while he bounced back well in FP3 - too many errors creeping in. Anyway this is a McLaren forum but I think Montreal was a re-levelling of the order and Ferrari didn't look as bad as many pundits spoke, poor decisions and that pesky furry creature. A tricky weekend for most, as is often the case at a low grip, high jeopardy track like this.

When he nailed it, he nailed it. It did look like it was going to be a four-way battle for pole: Verstappen, Norris, LeClerc, and Russell.

The real surprise was Williams. They looked strong as the weekend started, but faded away as we got to and during qualifying. Sainz was unlucky. Q3 did seem reasonable, but initially, it seems they were going to turn heads. Sainz ended up thing a good day considering where he was.

[Darth-Piekus]

At the end of the day the more consistent driver that has a package of speed, knowledge how to attack and defend and brings the car at the end is the champion and the better driver. The rest are shoulda, woulda, coulda and just ifs.

Any news about the upgrade package if it is coming in Austria?

[BMMR61]

Pikestance, I'm not sure how you came to these conclusions. The lap charts don't bear it out. Read them alongside Piastri getting baulked repeatedly by lapped drivers ignoring blue flags (laps 56-59). Last stint, laps 49 - 67 in free air, Oscar was low to mid 14s, fastest 14.2. Lando's fastest 14.2. Russell's fastest 14.1. Piastri lived the entire race within 2 seconds of Antonelli, it doesn't tend to help your pace. Middle stint, Oscar on hards, Lando on mediums with a 13 lap tyre life advantage, they were high 15s versus low 15s - about 0.5 second faster, no better than expected given the tyre delta. Being on this alternate strategy worked a treat if you are sympathetic with the tyres as Lando always is.

No question Lando drove great until that stupid error, but Montreal this year was another no overtaking track. So much of the professional punditry lately is of such low attention span, maybe this clouds your view that Oscar was really sub par in the race. At his best no, but this wasn't a race of classical undercuts and without errors, P4 was baked in after the turn 1/2/3 shemozzle.

[BMMR61]

Peculiar view on Leclerc if I may venture an opinion. Best in practice? He took himself out of FP1 and 2 with a rookie error and while he bounced back well in FP3 - too many errors creeping in. Anyway this is a McLaren forum but I think Montreal was a re-levelling of the order and Ferrari didn't look as bad as many pundits spoke, poor decisions and that pesky furry creature. A tricky weekend for most, as is often the case at a low grip, high jeopardy track like this.

When he nailed it, he nailed it. It did look like it was going to be a four-way battle for pole: Verstappen, Norris, LeClerc, and Russell.

The real surprise was Williams. They looked strong as the weekend started, but faded away as we got to and during qualifying. Sainz was unlucky. Q3 did seem reasonable, but initially, it seems they were going to turn heads. Sainz ended up thing a good day considering where he was.

Were you talking about Leclerc? When did he nail it? Nailed the wall on Friday and took an early shower. Made a fine recovery in FP3 before blowing it in Q3. In the race - no man's land and even on fresh mediums for his last stint, fell away from the McLarens by nearly a second a lap, probably due to "nailing it" straight out of the pits on his new tyres.

[venkyhere]

but this wasn't a race of classical undercuts

disagree on this single point.
The only reason Verstappen stayed ahead of Antonelli was because Redbull were smart enough to pit him at the exact moment Antonelli was about to pass him. Twice. Classic undercut.

[Seerix]

I think similar happened to Oscar. I heard his team radio and twice Tom said 'box to overtake', but Merc pitted on that lap, so Osc stayed out.

[Darth-Piekus]

Considering everyone brought tons of upgrades while Mclaren hasn't and considering we need special conditions at this point to be top do we have any upgrades that will open the distance and make this championship fight easier for our drivers?

[BMMR61]

Considering everyone brought tons of upgrades while Mclaren hasn't and considering we need special conditions at this point to be top do we have any upgrades that will open the distance and make this championship fight easier for our drivers?

I'd turn that around and say that other teams "need special conditions to be top". Personally I'd rather see our drivers have some sort of fight before securing the championship, not to have an easy path which devalues their achievements, which is to a degree being done. Our drivers, not just Lando, have come in for a large amount of belittlement on social media. Oh well, I guess Mika faced an unfair amount of belittlement when he won his two titles back to back.

[Watto]

Considering everyone brought tons of upgrades while Mclaren hasn't and considering we need special conditions at this point to be top do we have any upgrades that will open the distance and make this championship fight easier for our drivers?

Oscar has an almost 2 race lead in the WDC, Lando 1 race over the rest of the field. I think the McLaren is still in most conditions a pretty dominate team as much as Red Bull were a few years ago.

As BMMR61 said I think its other teams that need so have a track that really suits them , or a little luck to get a win.

The WCC is pretty much over, and I tend to think for the most part the WDC is between Lando and Oscar. A very very remote change of Max maybe,

[Darth-Piekus]

I see. In any case do we have news of an upgrade package?