It’s too early into the campaign to celebrate anything tangible, but McLaren’s pre-season testing was one to remember. The mood was great internally, and Lando Norris, the firm favorite to win the 2025 title, was quite chirpy on all three days.
With two weeks to go until the lights go out in Australia for the first race of the 2025 season, Norris shared some highlights from Bahrain, including moments with his teammate, Oscar Piastri.
The Melbourne-born driver was largely in Norris’ shadow in terms of performance, but off-track, he cheekily stole the spotlight — thanks to Norris, who had secretly filmed him.
The video showed Piastri waiting to give an interview, with the amusing part being how the 23-year-old was swaying in a good mood, not too far from a proper dance performance. Norris likely wanted to tease Piastri about it, which may have influenced his joke in the story’s caption.
“Oscarinho loves media days so much!” he stated.
The Bristol-born driver also added a song to the story — Time of Our Lives by Ne-Yo and Pitbull. The lyrics would have synced perfectly had Piastri gone all out with a full dance for Norris’ post.
Something the McLaren marketing department might want to capitalize on later, perhaps!
Lando Norris teases Oscar Piastri on Instagram for his swaying happy dance during an interview in Bahrain pic.twitter.com/IMvDXl76dP
— Motorsport Fan (@F1IndyWEC) March 1, 2025
For now, though, the Woking-based outfit and its drivers have every reason to be happy, as they appear to have the fastest overall package on the grid. While this is merely a perception based on pre-season testing results, McLaren’s performance advantage seems quite certain.
Can Piastri and Norris harness McLaren’s potential?
Throughout testing, Norris and McLaren set the performance benchmark for the rest of the grid. The #4 driver seemed in a league of his own, with the MCL39 proving to be both quick and reliable.
Even Piastri was in the mix at the front, but it was Norris’ long runs that stole the headlines. Still, heading into the season opener, both McLaren drivers will be wary of Ferrari’s potential, given the Scuderia ended the 2024 campaign on a strong note.
The Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have the potential to contend for the race win in Albert Park, even if there is some uncertainty about how competitive they will be relative to McLaren.
While Norris is undoubtedly the driver to beat, Piastri will also fancy his chances. Racing in his third home Grand Prix, Piastri has a golden opportunity to secure a podium — or even a victory.
A win would be historic, as no Australian driver has ever won the Australian GP. Piastri has the chance to make his mark at the start of the season and stake his claim for the drivers’ title — just as his teammate aims to do.
