McLaren’s Real Edge in the 2025 F1 Season Revealed Thr… Read more
Despite public perception that McLaren are clearly the dominant force in the 2025 Formula 1 season, Lando Norris has been quick to challenge this narrative. After Oscar Piastri secured McLaren’s fourth win in five races with a victory in Saudi Arabia, Norris voiced frustration over suggestions that McLaren should be far ahead of their rivals. Although McLaren lead the Constructors’ Championship by 77 points heading into the Miami Grand Prix, the Drivers’ title remains closely contested. Max Verstappen trails Piastri by just 12 points, and Norris is only two points behind the Red Bull star.
Norris insists that McLaren’s advantage is overstated, particularly in qualifying and race pace. “They’re just as quick in qualy… just as quick as us in the race,” he said, pointing out that while McLaren may show strong form in practice, this doesn’t always carry over to qualifying or race performance. He emphasized that McLaren’s practice sessions are part of their strategy, and that appearing quicker during those doesn’t reflect the true competitive balance. “We have a great car, and probably the quickest on average, for sure, but clearly not enough,” Norris admitted.
Other drivers have chimed in too. George Russell, currently fourth in the standings, recently acknowledged McLaren’s lead, though it was a step back from his earlier belief that the team should be winning every race. Verstappen, meanwhile, has been relatively quiet about McLaren’s pace, but did previously suggest that had he been driving their car at Suzuka, no one would have caught him.
To better understand the real performance gap, Sky Sports F1’s strategy analyst Bernie Collins delved into qualifying data from the season’s first five races. Using the metric of ‘Theoretical Best Lap’ (TBL)—a calculation based on a driver’s three best sector times in qualifying—Collins attempted to quantify how much more performance could have been extracted from each car. While TBL isn’t flawless, it offers a cleaner look at raw pace than race results or practice times, as it removes variables like fuel load and tyre management.
The Australian Grand Prix highlighted McLaren’s peak pace, with Norris on pole and Piastri alongside him. Verstappen, the fastest non-McLaren, was nearly four-tenths behind. Norris’s deleted first Q3 lap made his final effort essential, while Russell underperformed relative to his own TBL, costing him a spot ahead of Verstappen.
Ultimately, while McLaren have arguably the strongest car, the data suggests their margin is slim, and their rivals remain well within striking distance.
