Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are battling for the Formula 1 title, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull are desperate – McLaren 2025 is more dominant than ever, but not perfect
McLaren dominates the 2025 Formula 1 season in both the drivers’ and team standings. At the top, teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are battling for the title: Before the end of the summer break, just nine points separate the two. At the start of the season, however, McLaren struggled with weaknesses in qualifying, which were partially offset by good development.
In the last four races – from Austria to Hungary – the two McLaren drivers have always scored double victories. This puts the team 299 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings, with ten race weekends still to go. If Piastri and Norris continue this trend, McLaren could clinch the title in Azerbaijan.
The race pace of the MCL39 is unchallenged, as the car is well suited to the tires and offers great consistency over long stints. However, it also helps that the top contenders – Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull – are repeatedly struggling with difficulties.
Qualifying not perfect
However, there is one weakness: qualifying! The MCL39 is not as strong over a single lap as, for example, Red Bull’s RB21. “During testing in Bahrain, we didn’t have any problems with the steering or front suspension, but it was very difficult to push the car to its limits,” Piastri said in an exclusive interview with Autosport. “Our race pace was always strong, but we had problems in the qualifying simulations.”
“We had a lot of work to do to try and solve that,” the Australian continued. “But we’ve seen it repeatedly throughout the year. In Canada, for example, or on other tracks where it was difficult to drive at the limit. That’s what we’ve communicated most often, partly because everything else is going well.”
It was Norris who raised the issues at the start of the season. Team principal Andrea Stella confirmed that this led to different versions of the front suspension being tried. The package resulted in a change to the caster angle, i.e. the angle between the lower and upper suspension mountings. This, in turn, resulted in a modification of the camber angle—the angle of the lower and upper suspension points, but viewed from the front.
Norris takes a different approach to Piastri
This creates a self-levelling torque on the wheels while the driver is steering, which provides better feedback. Norris, who perhaps values feedback through his hands more than other drivers who tend to feel the car through their rear end, has benefited from this.
However, this also has disadvantages: as the caster increases, so does the steering effort required to turn in, although this is less significant in Formula 1 cars with power steering. The effects of dynamic changes in other kinematic variables must also be taken into account. In corners, for example, the trail is not independent of the camber, which can affect the car’s handling.
While Norris has been using this suspension package, Piastri has not. He feels that he does not need the changed steering wheel feel and did not want to change the feel of the car in the same way as Norris.
Piastri feels comfortable
Although he was rather reserved on the subject, Piastri was clear about his impressions of the MCL39’s handling. He explained that, unlike Norris, he was able to dispel his major concerns about the setup.
“I haven’t really struggled with that feeling or sensation,” said Piastri. “We tried different things on the front suspension to see if that would change things much. But I’m pretty happy with where we are at the moment.”
“It wasn’t a big issue for me, but initially I definitely had the same feeling that the car was quite difficult to drive in certain conditions,” he said. “I think we’ve got a much better handle on the setup. I’ve also adjusted to the car better and adjusted my expectations. But there’s nothing specific that I don’t like anymore.”
