Oscar Piastri’s third victory of the Formula 1 season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has propelled him to a 10-point lead in the drivers’ championship, seemingly cementing McLaren’s position as the dominant force.
However, beneath the surface of this triumph, a growing unease is palpable within the McLaren camp. Both Piastri and his teammate Lando Norris have voiced concerns about the unexpected pace of Red Bull, suggesting that the reigning champions might be closer to challenging for the title than recent narratives suggest.
McLaren has enjoyed a stellar start to the 2025 season, building upon their impressive constructors’ championship victory in 2024. Piastri and Norris have secured four wins out of the initial five races, establishing a commanding lead for the Woking-based team in both drivers’ and constructors’ standings. This success has been met with widespread praise for McLaren’s resurgence.
Conversely, Red Bull has found itself navigating a period of intense scrutiny. Whispers of internal instability and renewed speculation surrounding Max Verstappen’s future have cast a shadow over the team’s performance. Despite this backdrop, Verstappen delivered a commanding victory in Japan and relentlessly pursued Piastri in Jeddah, ultimately finishing second after serving a five-second penalty. These performances hint that Red Bull’s competitive edge might not have dulled as much as perceived.
Piastri himself acknowledged the hard-fought nature of his Jeddah victory. “The fact that I crossed the line first, to be honest,” he admitted. “It wasn’t the easiest of wins. The start was tough, the first stint was tough behind Max. And then once I had some clean air, it was a bit easier to manage. But I still couldn’t afford to take my foot off the gas. It was a difficult race, and Max was quick behind me, so I had to keep pushing. I could control it reasonably well, but it was a little bit tighter than I would have liked.”
Norris echoed this sentiment, explicitly stating that McLaren does not possess the significant pace advantage many believe. “Red Bull are just as quick in qualifying. They’re just as quick as us in the race,” the British driver asserted after finishing fourth in Saudi Arabia. “Just because we’re quick in practice, people just keep coming up with all this this crap. We don’t believe we’re much ahead as it shows. I think probably Max was the quickest out there today, so we have work to do. People keep saying that we’re the best, we’re the quickest, blah blah blah, but it’s just because we show a bit more pace in practice.”
While Piastri maintains that McLaren holds an overall pace advantage, he conceded that Verstappen’s speed in Jeddah caught him off guard. “Max was quicker than I expected for sure in the race. I thought over one lap it wasn’t a huge surprise to see Max quick, but in the race, I wasn’t expecting to struggle so much at the end of the medium stint, that’s for sure.”
“So clearly we’ve got some work to do. I think our car is still very good, but when you look at the layout here compared to Suzuka, it’s the most similar so far, and it’s been the two where Max and Red Bull have been closer. I think we still have an advantage. I don’t think it’s as big on surfaces like this and layouts like this, but we still have a very strong car at the moment.”
The concerns raised by the McLaren drivers highlight a crucial narrative developing in the early stages of the 2025 season. Despite McLaren’s strong start and championship lead, the underlying pace demonstrated by Verstappen and Red Bull in recent races, particularly in Jeddah and Suzuka, suggests that the title battle might be far from a straightforward McLaren procession. The similarities in track characteristics between these two circuits, both featuring high-speed sections and demanding aerodynamic efficiency, could indicate a performance trend where Red Bull’s strengths are more pronounced. McLaren will undoubtedly be analyzing this data closely as they prepare for upcoming races, aware that their advantage might be more fragile than the championship standings currently reflect.