2025 McLaren F1 Team

[Luscion]

looks like Lando will use #1 next year

[Darth-Piekus]

The number 1 goes to Norris. Good job and well deserved. Now onwards to 2026 hoping and praying we can create a car that will leave everyone in the dust with a bigger difference and this time defeating them all year.

[CjC]

Something for the Lando haters:

[bauc]

I'm glad Norris choose to have #1 on his car next year, after all it is a years old tradition that needs to be respected and kept alive, unlike some (yes Hamilton I'm talking to you) who decided that their personal brand is more important than the history and tradition of F1.

Like NOR said in the video above, it's not only about him, it's about all the people in Mclaren, the sponsors, the owners, the sport the tradition.....

Cant wait till Jan 26th, even though it would be closed for media session, I'm sure we will get a glimpse of the new cars.

Meanwhile....

[Raleigh]

Why wouldn’t max have been able to back the pack up?
Surely the split tyre strategy would have only worked if Oscar was in the lead and could build a big enough gap to Max so when Max putted he wasn’t ever going to come first.
Backing the pack up would have meant that the rear runners would have have to put early to give the undercut the chance of leapfrogging the cars infront. I think in that case McLaren would have had to take the lead in that instance in pitting Lando before the others.

I think RBR knew there was super little they could do realistically when the 2 behind Lando - Russel and Leclerc, didn’t have any pace to challenge Lando for position

Backing up into Oscar would have been very risky, he had absolutely nothing to lose and would have been ultra aggressive trying to get past.

Different from Lando who was very aggressive himself clearing traffic but might have needed to weigh up a lunge on Max.

[Mattchu]

Massive congratulations to Lando Norris and McLaren F1 on becoming World Drivers` Champion and World Constuctors` Champion

Considering where the team was just a few years ago, with the right ingredients, anything is possible...

[bauc]

[Macklaren]

https://x.com/i/status/1998120397968224693

Interesting that the 2026 car is called the MCL40A in this auction. Implies a B-speed coming down the line as well?

[AR3-GP]

One thing that didn't settle well with me was the discourse surrounding Lando's bad luck. He had a car failure in Zandvoort that was not his fault. That cost him 18 pts. One could also Verstappen lost 15pts in Austria because of another driver crashing into him. Lando Norris also had a car failure in Las Vegas, but one could counter this with the fact that Verstappen had to drive a potato in Hungary where he should have scored P3 in a normal car instead of P9.

Therefore Lando Norris was not more affected by bad luck than Max Verstappen. It was relatively equal parts bad luck for both. The championship standings ahead of Abu Dhabi actually reflected that fairness. I'll leave out whether having to drive an inconsistent RB21 was even greater bad luck....

[Chuckjr]

Congratulations to Lando and all the McLaren team and fans.

[daren_p]

He had a car failure in Zandvoort that was not his fault. That cost him 18 pts. One could also Verstappen lost 15pts in Austria because of another driver crashing into him. Lando Norris also had a car failure in Las Vegas, but one could counter this with the fact that Verstappen had to drive a potato in Hungary where he should have scored P3 in a normal car instead of P9.

I would have to counter that with LN 18pts lost Zandvoort, while Max gained 3 (moved from 3rd to 2nd). Max potentially lost 15 points in Austria, while Lando lost 7 (possibly 8 ) in COTA sprint due to Oscar crashing him out (& again possibly more in the GP as their car wasn't setup ideal due to lack of data from no cars running in the sprint). Lando lost 18 in Vegas, not sure driving a potato counts as a point loss

So Lando lost 43(possibly a few more as noted), Max 12

[AR3-GP]

He had a car failure in Zandvoort that was not his fault. That cost him 18 pts. One could also Verstappen lost 15pts in Austria because of another driver crashing into him. Lando Norris also had a car failure in Las Vegas, but one could counter this with the fact that Verstappen had to drive a potato in Hungary where he should have scored P3 in a normal car instead of P9.

I would have to counter that with LN 18pts lost Zandvoort, while Max gained 3 (moved from 3rd to 2nd). Max potentially lost 15 points in Austria, while Lando lost 7 (possibly 8 ) in COTA sprint due to Oscar crashing him out (& again possibly more in the GP as their car wasn't setup ideal due to lack of data from no cars running in the sprint). Lando lost 18 in Vegas, not sure driving a potato counts as a point loss

So Lando lost 43(possibly a few more as noted), Max 12

A car that was normally 2nd (season average) turning into a cucumber for 2 race weekends (Hungary/Bahrain) is an extraordinary circumstance imo. Just as much outside of the control of the driver as a burst oil line. Therefore, I classify them as points losses which were not preventable. A normal 2nd fastest car would have finished 3rd in both races. Lando Norris never had to experience this, but it got balanced out by his 0 points in Zandvoort and Las Vegas. Since I feel that it was a fair rebalancing of the points, then Lando Norris was never entitled to wrapping up the championship with rounds to go. That's only realized by selectively taking into account Lando's no-fault failures, while ignoring Verstappen's (Hungary, Austria, Bahrain).

[Darth-Piekus]

You cannot compare a poor set up which you have full control over to an oil leak that came from nowhere. Austria definitely was outside of Max's control but Hungary and Bahrain was simply a poor job just like Mexico and Brazil.

[Quantum]

Car that isnt the fastest now included in bad luck formulations...

[AR3-GP]

There's often a lot of complaining about other drivers being praised (D-P), but I rarely see time spent to appreciate or discuss Lando's best work this year. What are in your opinion his top 5 moments of the year? (excluding the title itself)

For me:

1) Monaco pole
2) Mexico dominance (+30s to the rest)
3) Hungary P4 -> P1
4) Brazil sweep
5) Abu Dhabi

I'd like to fit Austria but don't know where to put it. He defended well, repassed Piastri, and showed a level of racecraft that he needs more often.