A dominant 2025 season for McLaren
The 2025 Formula 1 season has so far been nothing short of extraordinary for the McLaren F1 Team. With a stunning record of 11 Grand Prix victories, 8 pole positions in qualifying sessions, and a total of 24 podium finishes, the team based in Woking, United Kingdom, has established itself as the dominant force on the grid. Their advantage in the constructors’ standings is overwhelming: they currently lead second-placed Scuderia Ferrari by an astonishing 299 points.
Given such a clear technical superiority, one might reasonably conclude that McLaren is winning with ease. However, there are moments when it seems as though the British team complicates things unnecessarily, creating challenging scenarios for themselves despite having the fastest car on the track.
A paradoxical Sunday for Lando Norris
During the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend at the Hungaroring circuit, McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris secured strong grid positions by qualifying second and third, respectively. The team appeared poised for another dominant performance.
Yet, when the lights went out and the race began, Lando Norris had a puzzlingly poor start. He was overtaken almost immediately by George Russell’s Mercedes and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. With that setback, Norris’s hopes of securing the race victory seemed to vanish within the first few seconds.
At that stage, the race appeared firmly in the hands of Oscar Piastri, who maintained second position and looked like the stronger contender. But then, the strategists on Lando Norris’s side of the garage devised an alternative plan—a bold one-stop strategy that differed from Piastri’s more conventional two-stop approach.
In hindsight, that decision turned out to be crucial and ultimately race-winning. Thanks to the undercut and the inherent difficulty of overtaking at the twisty and narrow Hungaroring circuit, Norris managed to stay ahead of Piastri in the closing laps. Despite being significantly quicker in the final stages, Oscar Piastri could not find a way past his teammate, even coming perilously close to causing a collision between the two McLaren cars.
A circuit where overtaking is nearly impossible
As is widely acknowledged in the Formula 1 paddock, the Hungaroring is one of the most difficult circuits on the calendar for overtaking maneuvers. That context makes strategic differences even more important. Lando Norris’s poor decision to move to the inside line at Turn 1 on the opening lap may have compromised his early race position, but it also forced his engineers to devise a creative strategy to recover his position.
However, what raised eyebrows was the fact that this one-stop plan was never seriously considered or offered to Oscar Piastri, despite both drivers being in nearly identical positions. The disparity in strategic options suggests that McLaren may not have provided equal treatment to both drivers during the race.
The luxury McLaren can afford in 2025
In Hungary, the McLaren Formula 1 Team—led by team principal Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown—gave the impression of being somewhat fragmented. While not overtly divided, the team certainly did not appear to be operating with a uniform strategy for both of its drivers.
With the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship for Drivers almost certain to be decided between the two McLaren teammates, the team seems to have split into two internal camps. And that, paradoxically, is a luxury McLaren can afford in this dominant season. With such a colossal lead in the Constructors’ Championship standings, the team no longer needs to prioritize safe, unified race strategies that guarantee maximum points. Instead, they can afford to let Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battle freely on track—even if it means risking contact or a potential double retirement.
A final note for Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull
There is one final point worth making—and this is directed at the rival teams: Scuderia Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, and Oracle Red Bull Racing. Formula 1 fans should consider themselves fortunate that the team with the most dominant car in 2025 has two drivers who are extremely competitive and closely matched. If McLaren had a clear number one and number two driver, or if the internal battle were less intense, both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships would have been mathematically decided months ago.
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