With McLaren winning their first Constructors’ title since 1998 last year, the entire team is buzzing with confidence. The whole unit feels that they can win both the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ Championships this season.
At first, it was Lando Norris who revealed how he feels confident for the first time that he can become champion this season. “I’m confident and for those of you who know me, I’m not a guy who’s normally full of confidence,” he said in a video he uploaded on his official YouTube channel after last year’s Abu Dhabi GP. “But for the first time, I’m confident”.
Then, it was McLaren CEO Zak Brown who revealed how he expects both his drivers to fight for the titles this year. “I think both drivers are going to fight for the championship,” the American said on The Intercooler podcast when asked if 2025 can be Norris’ year to win his maiden title.
After his teammate and his boss, it seems that Oscar Piastri too believes he can win the title this year. Given it is only his third season in the sport, it won’t be easy but the Aussie is prepared to do whatever it takes.
“We’re starting with a clean slate. I really think I can be world champion this year,” the Australian revealed in an interview, per Formule1.nl.
The 23-year-old then admitted that he had some “weaknesses” last season but believes he has worked on them.
“Last season I started with some weaknesses – I didn’t have a lot of confidence. I worked on that during the year and now I just have to be there every weekend,” he added.
“I’m definitely going into this year with the aim of challenging for both championships!”
Oscar Piastri lays out his plans for the 2025 season ️ pic.twitter.com/KrP4hRPqnz
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 13, 2025
That has certainly been the case as Piastri‘s performances in the second half of the 2024 season were vastly better and consistent. His race management and overtaking in the top five especially showed that the Aussie is ready to consistently fight for wins.
Piastri and Norris will both be gunning for their maiden world championships and Brown is hoping they do not step on each other’s toes. But it won’t be that simple for either of them if McLaren isn’t the outright dominant team in 2025.
Piastri knows winning the 2025 title won’t be a cakewalk
All is not rosy for McLaren as Piastri did admit that the MCL39 is “not perfect”. However, he also believes that since all teams are likely to find themselves in a similar position at the start of the season, they can improve upon the “right things” and be title contenders again.
However, there are other teams like Ferrari and Red Bull in the mix, who will make McLaren’s life difficult. Unlike 2024, the Woking team could be the ‘hunted’. While that is also a position to be proud of, Piastri and Norris would realize the amount of pressure they will have to deal with in such a scenario.
While Red Bull may take their time to resolve their issues from last year and get up to speed, Ferrari seems set to challenge for both titles right from the get-go. So, the McLaren duo will have two superstar championship contenders — Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton — chasing them.
On top of that, Max Verstappen can never be ruled out of title contention, even if the Bulls are having an underpar car initially. So, Piastri and Norris will have a steep task of taking the championship lead and retaining it from such fierce competitors. Time will tell if either of them can successfully do so.
