2025 McLaren F1 Team

[Balalu]

Well I cant argue much if somebody is going to willfully deny reality like this.

Makes your initial post make more sense, though.

I mean, I can 'perceive' that Ayrton Senna wasn't actually a great F1 driver. I'm guessing you wouldn't take me very seriously if I said so, though.

Your reality lol

The car was not the best car over the season, but since Miami. It was too much to close the gap. But it should have been much closer. Outside of some on Reddit and some certain threads in here, this appears to be the concesus.

Anyway, that was last year.

Miami occurred well before halfway into the season. Meaning the Mclaren was the clear best car for the vast majority of the season.

Nobody agrees with you except sad Mclaren and Norris fans who dont want to accept reality.

Salty Ferrari fan ^

[vorticism]

Believe it or not, this season Mclaren are only just a fraction ahead on average points per race than Red Bull in 2023….

Pretty crazy, but then again, Perez did get second in the WDC that year, although his points tally tapered off in the latter 2/3 of that season. If Norris and Piastri maintain their form, the team should be comfortably breaking RB's '23 tally.

Tally yes, as we have 2 more races this season than in ‘23 but maybe one less sprint race? I struggle remembering all the sprint weekends.

Also, I hadn’t realised that McLaren made it into the top 10 of the most points scored in a season with their WCC last season- putting them 8th. Ferrari made it in, in 10th place for coming second last season too!

Yeah, it's not the best metric. They used to give 10 points for P1, and the number of races has changed, as you say. All I can say is it's shaping up to be a big number. And that will be without replicating RB's 2023 95% win percentage, which illustrates the influence of having two drivers maximizing points. Mclaren are at 516 halfway through this season when their entire tally from last season was 666. RB had 860 total in 2023 when they took both 1st and 2nd in the WDC. Mclaren need 344 across 11 races to beat that sum. Max constructors race points across 11 races would be 473 not factoring in sprints and FLs. They've collected roughly 90% of maximum WCC points so far this season (correct me if I'm wrong, it's just an estimate), continuing that would yield 423 points.

[WardenOfTheNorth]

Your reality lol

The car was not the best car over the season, but since Miami. It was too much to close the gap. But it should have been much closer. Outside of some on Reddit and some certain threads in here, this appears to be the concesus.

Anyway, that was last year.

Miami occurred well before halfway into the season. Meaning the Mclaren was the clear best car for the vast majority of the season.

Nobody agrees with you except sad Mclaren and Norris fans who dont want to accept reality.

Many people didn't think it was the clear best car, but the best all round car that had the potential to win a number of races.

Some people did think it was the clear best car, a small number try to then present it as a universal truth.

Most of your factual support follows the same trumpian trope 'everyone else agrees', when clearly not everyone, or even a majority does, even with a cursory Google.

This ^^^^^^

What most DO agree on is that Max did NOT have the best car for most of the season.

I'm no fan of Max, but it does make me feel 2024 was his best title. He had to fight for it!!

[SilviuAgo]

Miami occurred well before halfway into the season. Meaning the Mclaren was the clear best car for the vast majority of the season.

Nobody agrees with you except sad Mclaren and Norris fans who dont want to accept reality.

Many people didn't think it was the clear best car, but the best all round car that had the potential to win a number of races.

Some people did think it was the clear best car, a small number try to then present it as a universal truth.

Most of your factual support follows the same trumpian trope 'everyone else agrees', when clearly not everyone, or even a majority does, even with a cursory Google.

This ^^^^^^

What most DO agree on is that Max did NOT have the best car for most of the season.

I'm no fan of Max, but it does make me feel 2024 was his best title. He had to fight for it!!

Maybe if we are looking at the ground effect era. Cause imo 2021 was the best of Max, and something no one believed.
2024 was a year that started, after first races with same quote of "give already the title to Max (&RedBull)" and finished with a question, but also a conclusion, that neither McLaren or Lando were fully prepared to fight for a world championship. McLaren managed to grab the WCC but with some emotion in the last race, due to a perfect managed drive from Lando and a very kind Carlos )

This year is something else, and this guys (Lando and Oscar) are writing history for McLaren. I was looking at some statistics (knowing that you can not compare very fairly a 24 races season with what we had on Senna or Prost era) but until now we spoke only about MP 4/4. Now MCL39 has all the chances to be right there:

Wins: most wins in a season: 15 (out of 16) - in 1988
2025: already 10 (out of 13)

Poles: most in a season: 15 (1988, 1989)
2025: 8

Podiums: most in a season: 25 (1988)
2025: 22

Fastest laps: most in a season: 12 (2000, 2005)
2025: 9

[SilviuAgo]

[proteus]

I must say im am just so happy the team is in a position where people argue with each other if this is their most dominant season Many, many more of seasons like this please

[Emag]

Felt like this team was heading into the Williams direction in 2018. Zak was making promises back then, but I admit I was quite sceptical in the beginning.

It’s pretty damn impressive that McLaren reached their targets on point (adjusting for the covid delays, they actually won a title one year ahead of “schedule”)

[CjC]

Totally agree Emag.
If I could I ask Zak one question, I’d ask him what made him so convinced all those years ago that 2025 would be the ‘year’

[WardenOfTheNorth]

Many people didn't think it was the clear best car, but the best all round car that had the potential to win a number of races.

Some people did think it was the clear best car, a small number try to then present it as a universal truth.

Most of your factual support follows the same trumpian trope 'everyone else agrees', when clearly not everyone, or even a majority does, even with a cursory Google.

This ^^^^^^

What most DO agree on is that Max did NOT have the best car for most of the season.

I'm no fan of Max, but it does make me feel 2024 was his best title. He had to fight for it!!

Maybe if we are looking at the ground effect era. Cause imo 2021 was the best of Max, and something no one believed.
2024 was a year that started, after first races with same quote of "give already the title to Max (&RedBull)" and finished with a question, but also a conclusion, that neither McLaren or Lando were fully prepared to fight for a world championship. McLaren managed to grab the WCC but with some emotion in the last race, due to a perfect managed drive from Lando and a very kind Carlos )

This year is something else, and this guys (Lando and Oscar) are writing history for McLaren. I was looking at some statistics (knowing that you can not compare very fairly a 24 races season with what we had on Senna or Prost era) but until now we spoke only about MP 4/4. Now MCL39 has all the chances to be right there:

Wins: most wins in a season: 15 (out of 16) - in 1988
2025: already 10 (out of 13)

Poles: most in a season: 15 (1988, 1989)
2025: 8

Podiums: most in a season: 25 (1988)
2025: 22

Fastest laps: most in a season: 12 (2000, 2005)
2025: 9

I'll agree to disagree. In 2021 I felt like Max was still fighting a little bit dirty and crying victim too often. Plus, I'm sorry, but I still think Lewis should have won that year, though it wasn't Max's fault the rules weren't followed in final race.

2024 he was more mature and got down to working hard and just accepted that he didn't have the best car any more.

[BMMR61]

It indicates that Max after 10 years in F1 was still improving. With McLaren's drivers in their 7th and 3rd seasons it bodes well. Arguably drivers improvement curve rises in their times in a truly competitive car, we're seeing our guys both building their craft with both the MCL38 and the 39. For the realists among us, we accept Max is the clearly best driver, and it isn't all a matter of pace, which is pretty close among the top 5 drivers. Max has honed his race craft across many battles, particularly the last 5 seasons. When someone comes to this forum and slags McLaren's drivers, they can't provide a direct comparison to show that, other than Max, there are drivers who could be doing a better drive in that car. The team fully believe in both drivers and there's no indication Zak would chase even Max and risk destabilising the best driver lineup. Cheap shots just indicate we're over the target, I still have to remind myself where we were three years ago, oh happy day!

[BMMR61]

Anyone see what the Friday weather is looking like at Hungary half an hour from first practice?

[SilviuAgo]

Anyone see what the Friday weather is looking like at Hungary half an hour from first practice?

For the moment my phone show us 27°but, although there are some clouds, directly in the sun is not a nice feeling. I would say that is worst then my previous live race, in Imola. And tomorrow will be hotter. A relative of mine staying in Budapest said last evening that on Sunday some storms are expected in Hungary. So for today and tomorrow will be hot to very hot in direct sun, but for Sunday chiller weather is expected.