McLaren have enjoyed a stellar 2025 campaign up to this point, with the reigning World Champions storming towards back-to-back titles while impressively managing the intra-team battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. With 14 of 24 rounds down, we present their glowing half term report\u2026<\/p>\n
Best finish<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri \u2013 1st in China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Spain and Belgium; Lando Norris \u2013 1st in Australia, Monaco, Austria, Britain and Hungary<\/p>\n
McLaren<\/a> ended a 26-year wait for title glory last season, building on the progress they made through 2023 to become regular podium finishers and then frequent race winners \u2013 ultimately earning them the Teams\u2019 crown over historic rivals Ferrari<\/a>.<\/p>\n For 2025, the goal was to turn that morale-boosting triumph into a championship double. Thanks to the ultra-efficient MCL39 winning 11 out of 14 Grands Prix so far at the hands of Oscar Piastri<\/a> and Lando Norris<\/a>, it is surely a matter of when, not if, this target will be achieved.<\/p>\n The only remaining question surrounds which of the two McLaren drivers will go on to secure the individual title \u2013 Piastri having triumphed six times to Norris\u2019 five so far and heading into the summer break with a slender nine-point advantage<\/a>.<\/p>\n Qualifying head-to-head<\/p>\n Piastri 8-6 Norris<\/p>\n With Norris making his F1 debut back in 2019 and Piastri arriving as his team mate only a couple of years ago, it was the Briton who comfortably led their Qualifying and Grand Prix head-to-heads through the 2023 and 2024 seasons.<\/p>\n However, Piastri has made a clear step forward this year \u2013 in his own words, improving \u201ca little bit in a lot of areas\u201d<\/a> \u2013 to consistently challenge Norris for intra-team supremacy, as highlighted by him narrowly topping the one-lap charts after 14 rounds.<\/p>\n While both drivers have scored four pole positions, Piastri\u2019s Qualifying form has been particularly consistent \u2013 logging a worst grid slot of fourth in Miami. As for Norris, he ended up sixth in Bahrain, 10th in Saudi Arabia and seventh in Canada via Q3 mistakes.<\/p>\n Race head-to-head<\/p>\n Piastri 7-7 Norris<\/p>\n It is a tie when it comes to Piastri and Norris\u2019 race day head-to-head, with their internal battle ebbing and flowing between the season opener in Australia and Hungary last time out \u2013 and pausing on that aforementioned gap of just nine points.<\/p>\n The obvious hit to Norris\u2019 tally came at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he dramatically ran into the back of Piastri\u2019s car<\/a> in the closing stages of the race and retired, meaning his team mate is the only driver to score points at every weekend so far.<\/p>\n Best moment<\/p>\n McLaren\u2019s relentless success in 2025 gives us plenty to choose from when it comes to \u2018best moments\u2019, but achieving a 200th F1 win at the Hungaroring \u2013 only the second team after Ferrari to reach that number \u2013 marked another major milestone in their journey.<\/p>\n McLaren team boss Andrea Stella said it was a result \u2013 which also earned a fourth successive 1-2 finish \u2013 the entire Woking-based squad were \u201cproud and privileged to have delivered, following in the footsteps of our founder Bruce McLaren<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n On personal levels, Piastri\u2019s hat-trick of wins across the Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Miami weekends would no doubt be towards the top of his list, while Norris achieved two childhood dreams by winning on the streets of Monaco and at Silverstone.<\/p>\n Worst moment<\/p>\n We mentioned the Canada clash above, and it is difficult to look beyond it for McLaren\u2019s worst moment. After all, it marks the only time one of their cars has failed to take the chequered flag this season, while bringing into question the policy of letting both drivers race freely.<\/p>\n \u201cWe never want to see a McLaren car involved in an accident, and definitely we don\u2019t want to see the two McLarens having contact, so this situation is a situation that we know is not acceptable,\u201d Stella explained to F1 TV<\/a> in the immediate aftermath.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, we appreciate that Lando immediately owned it and apologised to the team, which for us sort of reset the situation. I\u2019m sure he has an important learning point coming from this race \u2013 he paid a price in the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n Going forward<\/p>\n To the benefit of fans, McLaren admirably stuck with that free-to-race approach after Montreal \u2013 their drivers\u2019 subsequent scraps and close calls in Austria and Hungary (two races in which Piastri almost hit Norris\u2019 car) showing that nothing had changed.<\/p>\n On the whole, the situation appears to have been managed extremely well, with both Piastri and Norris getting a fair crack at the title, the pair of them aware of their wider responsibilities, and the rest of the team fully aligned under Stella and CEO Zak Brown\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n It is likely to be more of a challenge when the heat gets turned up over the final 10 rounds, but McLaren are confident they will avoid controversial showdowns of the past<\/a> and, disasters aside, be able to properly celebrate becoming double World Champions for the first time since 1998<\/a>.<\/p>\n