Although Max Verstappen was only two points away from winning a fifth consecutive title, the Dutchman was composed after crossing the chequered in Yas Marina. This is largely because Verstappen never thought the 2025 Championship was realistic – often describing McLaren’s advantage as too large to overcome.
The same cannot be said for Oscar Piastri, who led the standings for almost two thirds of the season. A string of poor results to end the year doomed the Australian’s title chances and forced him to settle for 3rd place.
On theme with the questions regularly put forward in 2025, Piastri was asked if McLaren’s team dynamics could go against him in the aftermath of Lando Norris becoming World Champion.
In his usual fashion, the 9-time race winner rejected this suggestion.
Piastri looks to reset after title loss
Perhaps more than any other since 2021, this season was characterised by swings in momentum between the title contenders.
Piastri and Norris both enjoyed highs and lows, though it was ultimately a sustained bad patch for Piastri that gave his teammate a big enough advantage to become McLaren’s first World Champion since Lewis Hamilton.
In many ways, Piastri’s level of performance in 2025 triggered speculation about the ‘number 1’ driver at McLaren.
Of course, Zak Brown and Andrea Stella regularly shut down the idea that either driver would receive favourable treatment. Despite this, the progress Piastri showed this year created a headache that the Woking-based operation did not have twelve months.
With Norris now a World Champion, there are inevitably whispers about a potential shift in the balance of power within the McLaren garage.
Oscar Piastri firmly disagrees with this perspective:
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that will change anything.
“For me, he’s obviously had a great season this year and a deserving champion. But he’s still Lando Norris, it’s not like he’s become Superman.
“So, I don’t think things will change with that. I’m expecting full fairness from the team and equality going forward.
“I don’t have any concerns that that will change at all. Clearly, Lando’s had a very strong season this year, and ultimately did a better job.”
McLaren must overcome the 2026 reset
It should be noted that McLaren did not stand still in this year’s development race. Improvements were brought to the MCL39 throughout the year, an approach that was proven correct in the context of Red Bull and Verstappen’s late-season comeback.
After missing out on last season’s title, team principal Andrea Stella was candid about the plan for 2025.
He explained that McLaren missed out on the 2024 drivers title despite having the fastest car. In short, Stella argued that the only way to guarantee title success in 2025 was to have a vastly superior car to Red Bull.
McLaren were largely successful in this endeavour – even if Verstappen came within two points of claiming Championship.
Looking ahead to 2026, McLaren will be working to make up for lost time. Unlike other teams who invested in the 2026 cars very early, the Woking-based outfit were forced to split their resources.
This means that Norris and Piastri might not have the same chance to fight for the title next season. Then again, the papaya squad have shown they are capable of making huge improvements in a short amount of time.
When formulating their targets for 2026, having the fastest car immediately is therefore not an absolute necessity. Instead, being within striking distance of the best package (a realistic target if Mercedes deliver on the hype) will be Andrea Stella’s first target when pre-season testing commences.
READ MORE: How Williams unlocked a head start on their 2026 development
Main photo: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images (McLaren Media Gallery)
