After the season-opening Grand Prix at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, McLaren look like the team to beat, which was the consensus after Bahrain testing as well. Lando Norris proved that the MCL39 is a strong package by taking the lead in the championship with his fifth Grand Prix win Down Under.
Moreover, Norris‘ teammate, Oscar Piastri has looked equally comfortable in the car and the Woking-based team isn’t afraid to let the duo race each other. Later in the season, this dynamic could develop into a two-way fight for the drivers’ title. If that is the case, former Haas F1 team boss, Guenther Steiner has a warning for the Papaya team.
“I think we [are] looking at a Rosberg vs. Hamilton if they both fight for the championship. That is what I think because it’s very clear that [the team] lets them race,” he explained on the Red Flags podcast.
Even ESPN’s Nate Saunders has voiced how Piastri can hamper Norris’ title ambitions like Nico Rosberg challenged Lewis Hamilton when Mercedes were dominating the grid from 2014 to 2016. But do McLaren really have that kind of a dominant car?
The comparisons with Mercedes emerged after seeing McLaren’s comfortable pace gap over its rivals in Melbourne. Max Verstappen was the closest car to the McLaren duo in qualifying but was a whopping four-tenths off the pace.
Does McLaren’s Australian GP team order herald a Norris/Piastri F1 title fight?:
— McLaren’s handling of team orders in the Australian Grand Prix has sparked discussion, particularly regarding Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s potential title battle in 2025.
— On lap 29, Piastri… pic.twitter.com/Q4h3r8qAPp
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) March 19, 2025
So, from the looks of it, Steiner believes that the Woking-based team can enjoy the dominating success that the Silver Arrows did during their reign atop the standings in the turbo-hybrid era of F1. It could very well be an intra-team fight for the 2025 drivers’ crown with the better driver between Norris and Piastri emerging as the winner over the season.
That said, the Italian-American engineer added some caveats to this.
Can McLaren win it all in 2025?
After securing the Constructors’ title, last season, McLaren will be eager to push for the drivers’ title as well in 2025. However, Steiner believes that many factors could derail the Woking-based team’s championship ambitions.
The very first thing is the imminent danger from Ferrari. The Maranello-based team had a difficult outing at the Australian GP with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton only able to muster a P8 and P10 finish, respectively.
That said, this would gee them up to find that extra pace in the SF-25 going into the season. “I’m sure Ferrari will put a lot of effort into getting it right now. And if they hit something, if they get it right they could be challenging [McLaren],” added the 59-year-old.
Moreover, the likes of Mercedes have also shown potential in their package. George Russell secured the first podium of the season with a third-place finish, meanwhile, his 18-year-old rookie teammate, Kimi Antonelli put in a brilliant recovery drive to finish fourth after a P16 start.
Lastly, one can never rule out Verstappen, who even in a sub-par Red Bull car, can capitalize on a good situation to eke out victories ahead of both McLaren drivers. Despite the pace deficit in Melbourne, he hassled Norris till the very end to finish only ninth-tenths off him in P2.
So, McLaren will have to make the most of the advantage they have now. As they also need to start focusing on the 2026 regulations, their rivals could catch up with them midway this season.
