Has McLaren’s Austin GP sprint fiasco really made Verstappen a genuine F1 title contender?
The elephant in the room as Max Verstappen digested his sprint race victory in Austin was that it represented a net gain of just eight points in his favour with six grands prix to go in the 2025 Formula 1 season. That was enough to excite the commentariat but not Verstappen himself. «The overall pace […]
US GP heat, tyre degradation can give McLaren way to beat Verstappen
McLaren Formula 1 team boss Andrea Stella says Max Verstappen’s Austin sprint pole confirms Red Bull can now win everywhere, but in the Texas heat the Italian still thinks McLaren has an ace up its sleeve. In sprint qualifying McLaren’s Lando Norris led Max Verstappen in the first two qualifying segments run on medium tyres. But […]
McLaren not biased to Norris, will let us fight for F1 title
Oscar Piastri says he doesn’t believe McLaren is favouring his team-mate Lando Norris in their 2025 Formula 1 title fight, nor does he want to receive priority as the championship leader. Piastri is heading into the final six-race stretch with a 22-point lead on Norris, with reigning champion Max Verstappen now 63 points behind after consistently gaining […]
The real stress test awaiting McLaren’s ‘Papaya Rules’
The occasional friction between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, and their McLaren team, last year was a mere taster for what has already transpired in 2025 – and what is still to come. Max Verstappen might be creeping up incrementally, but the battle for the Formula 1 drivers’ title is the McLaren drivers’ to lose. […]
Is Piastri right to be annoyed at Norris and McLaren? Our writers have their say
Oscar Piastri voiced his annoyance at both Lando Norris and McLaren following the clash on the opening lap of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix – but were his complaints justified? The F1 world championship leader was barged by Norris into Turn 3 on the opening lap and wasn’t given sympathy from the McLaren pitwall […]
Norris denies «aggressive» move on Piastri in F1 Singapore GP start
The optics of ‘blue on blue’ – or in this case papaya on papaya – incidents in Formula 1 seldom reflect well on the aggressor. Especially at McLaren, where a policy of scrupulous equality prevails. But Lando Norris outright rejected claims that his move on team-mate Oscar Piastri at Turn 3 on the opening lap […]
How McLaren will deal with driver tensions after F1 Singapore GP clash
«I think the first-lap situation is one of those that can happen with this close racing,» was McLaren team principal Andrea Stella’s post-race take on the incident between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri which defined the Singapore Grand Prix. «We will review the situation together with our drivers, we will have the good conversations like […]
Ferrari fined for Leclerc-Norris pitlane clash at F1 Singapore GP
Ferrari has been handed a €10,000 fine for unsafely releasing Charles Leclerc into the path of McLaren’s Lando Norris during Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix practice. During Friday night’s second practice, Leclerc was sent out of the Ferrari garage into the path of Norris. The ensuing contact caused damage to Norris’ front wing, with the […]
Why McLaren constantly refuses to rule out Verstappen’s F1 2025 title chances
“You all laughed at me, well I have to say, you’re not laughing now,” is a famous quote from a certain politician that has been turned into a meme across the internet. Whatever the context, it could be relevant, and that particularly applies to the 2025 Formula 1 season. All year long the McLaren duo […]