Redbull Comeback or Mclaren Domination?
- Claire Lawler
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Mclaren’s Domination and Max Verstappen's Comeback in the 2025 F1 Season
With the end of the 2025 Formula 1 season approaching, the top three contenders are in crunch time with the final races approaching. Starting in Australia, Lando Norris took first place for Mclaren. Max Verstappen placed second for RedBull Racing. McLaren's other driver, Oscar Piastri, had a disappointing start at his home race with barely finishing in point range at ninth. Piastri soon turned it around and placed first with a 1-2 finish for McLaren.
Following his fourth World Drivers Championship (WDC) in a row, Redbull’s number one driver, Max Verstappen, got his first win of the season in Suzuka, Japan, and later in the season at Emilia-Romagna. Following these races, McLaren dominated on all aspects of the track, coming up with 9 race wins before summer break, with one unexpected win from Mercedes driver, George Russel, at the Canadian Grand Prix.
“I definitely think McLaren is very scared of Max Verstappen right now,” freshman Ella Iarossi said. “But I think if in the next Grand Prix if Oscar doesn't perform as well, they may bring in the defending strategy, because Lando has seemed more dominant, but the pressure might get to him in the next Grand Prix. The biggest thing is if they decide to start trying to fight off and use Oscar to block Max Verappen.”
Expectations were set for McLaren, with Piastri in first place for the WDC and Norris in second, the team had almost secured their second consecutive Constructors Championship. Piastri and Norris are in a tight battle for the WDC and teammates are turned into rivals. Piastri won first at Verstappen's home race in the Netherlands with Norris not finishing the race (DNF). Piastri now has a good lead over Norris and was expected to win WDC this year.
“Lately, they've been changing Lando's car and giving him better strategies,” freshman Ann Reilly Brown said. “With Lando only up by one point in the drivers championship and Max Verstappen slowly getting back on track, we know how dominant he is in defense and attack and how he can easily take that first place spot back.”
Pressure got high when Verstappen won the next race at the Italian Grand Prix, giving Laurent Mekies his first win as team principle for Redbull Racing following ex team principle Christian Horner's firing mid-season. Horner was accused of controlling and inappropriate behavior in 2024, and with the press still covering the case, he was fired after 20 years of being Red Bull Team Principal. McLaren’s team dynamics began to fall apart with "Papaya Rules,” which is an internal code of conduct that McLaren enforces, saying that Norris and Piastri should refrain from rough battling that could lead to a DNF for a McLaren driver. This also means McLaren doesn't have a number one driver, someone who gets better strategies, car upgrades and priorities when racing.
“I do think they see more of a better outcome with Lando,” Iarossi said. “So I don't know if I would call it exactly favoring, but I think the pressure is slowly getting to Oscar, which showed in his result with his past Grand Prix yesterday (Mexico Grand Prix). And I think it is harder to fight to keep things the same than to fight to get things to change.”
Verstappen's car upgrades have made a huge difference and now has an opportunity to beat McLaren, whose cars have been impeccable all season. Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with no McLaren drivers even on the podium. Russel won the Singapore Grand Prix, with glances of Piastri struggling under pressure by getting bad results in the last few races. Verstappen won in Texas with Norris in second and won the Sprint Race where both McLarens DNF’d. Verstappen, who is known for being one of the best drivers currently in Formula 1, has proven why he's a four time world champion and has reduced the points to only 29 following Norris’s win in Mexico.
With the current standings of Norris in first with 357 points, Piastri, with 356, and Verstappen in third with 321, McLaren is struggling to defend the championship. With only three races left, can McLaren secure a drivers championship for one of their drivers, or will Max Verstappen have the biggest comeback in Formula 1 history and win his fifth consecutive WDC?
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