It’s been pretty obvious that McLaren have been tripping over themselves in their effort to make sure they treat their drivers equally,
Exactly.
Oscar didn't see it that way at Monza and it followed him into the next race at Baku.
£1 says he won't be at McLaren in 2027.
£1 says he won't be at McLaren in 2027
Once the pecking order of teams is established next year, every driver will try to get a seat in the best team. If that team is McLaren, Oscar will do everything he possibly can to retain the seat and I expect McLaren would probably stick with both drivers if they can keep them.
Best and worst of 2025?
.
My top three of the year:
Hadjar. About the worst start one could imagine, crashing out like that in his first race, but bounced back spectacularly. Really hope being in the 'Big' team doesn't do for him.
Sainz. Took a while to get up to speed with the new team but kept persevering and it paid off. Who'd have thought he'd get more podiums than Hamilton?
Bearman. Another rookie in the top three? Really impressive against a more experienced teammate, some brilliant performances
Honourable mention Alex Albon. We said he'd need to bring his A game to stand a chance against Sainz and he did, handled the pressure brilliantly, although disappeared in the final third of the season.
.
And the three worst:
Hamilton. Massively disappointing, especially for someone of his abilities, and considering how many podiums LeClerc manages to get
Tsunoda. Just too far off the pace. Simple as.
Colapinto. Brought in to replace Doohan, not really an upgrade at all. Look at what Bearman, Hadjar and Borteletto achieved against their teammates, he was nowhere near.
Honourable mention . Verstappen. Clearly a very quick driver but still a complete *#@&head unfortunately. That the penalty he got in Spain for being a complete *#@&head cost him the title is very fitting, and something I find hilarious. Will he learn from that? Will he *@#&.
Once the pecking order of teams is established next year, every driver will try to get a seat in the best team. If that team is McLaren, Oscar will do everything he possibly can to retain the seat and I expect McLaren would probably stick with both drivers if they can keep them.
My £1 bet still stands! 🤣
If the McLaren proves to be good Lando will certainly get the nod and I don't believe Oscar will play second fiddle. And Lando can now play the World Champion card! There's already talk of a move and usually there's no smoke without fire in the F1 paddock.
Piastri's McLaren contract runs until the end of 2028. He's not going anywhere unless the car is uncompetitive and he has an exit clause.
Oscar didn't see it that way at Monza and it followed him into the next race at Baku.
Oscar has repeatedly said that he is fine with it
Hadjar. About the worst start one could imagine, crashing out like that in his first race, but bounced back spectacularly. Really hope being in the 'Big' team doesn't do for him.
Hadjar is really interesting. He’s been a stand out driver this year, but Lawson has been much closer to him in the second half of the season. I wonder how much he’s been flattered by having a surprisingly good car and a team mate with the yips, especially in the first half of the season. We’ll find out when he’s up against Max I suppose, at least he’ll be in good company if it all falls apart again
If the McLaren proves to be good Lando will certainly get the nod and I don't believe Oscar will play second fiddle
The year after Raikkinen won it Massa stepped up and very nearly did the same. When you've got two numbers one drivers that can happen. Or maybe it will the way of Hamilton/Rosberg and they'll keep fighting each other. Either way, just because Norris has won one don't write Piastri off.
Either way, just because Norris has won one don't write Piastri off.
Probably the reverse. Piastri will be hungry and will want fairness to take the form of gloves-off racing rather than team instructions. It’ll be Monza 2024 Piastri next year.
Well he's consistent at least ... 😬
Colapinto. Brought in to replace Doohan, not really an upgrade at all. Look at what Bearman, Hadjar and Borteletto achieved against their teammates, he was nowhere near.
The Race ranked him a step ahead of Doohan.
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/every-2025-f1-driver-ranked-from-worst-to-best/
The knives are out over at Red Bull!...
https://www.planetf1.com/news/christian-horner-helmut-marko-lying-interview
The Race ranked him a step ahead of Doohan.
I'm rapidly going off 'The Race'.
Just listened to their latest Tech Show podcast and half of it seemed to just be a sponsored ad for Atlassian. Painful to listen to with no real information just word-salad soundbites about integration & synergy bollocks.
They did a similar thing a month or so ago about fuel and it was just an advert for (I think) Aramco.
The knives are out over at Red Bull!...
I'm no fan of Horner or Marko, but my understanding is that Horner was required to sign a chunky NDA when he was stood down. Marko doesn't seem to have the same restriction so can flap his trap about whatever nonsense he wants (no change there) with no comeback from Horner. I'd expect Horner to have quite a different view of what happened, and the truth will be somewhere between those two.
Honestly the management team at Red Bull mostly deserved each other, all of them Horner, Marko, the Verstappens, their manager even to an extent Newey - who's more than happy 'on maneuvers' than lots of folk give him credit for. They can all take their fair share of the toxicity that the death of Mateschitz created.
I'm rapidly going off 'The Race'.
I think it's just par for the course of trying to do what they're doing is that sometimes they have to do "advertorials" Listen to pretty much any podcast these days and there's always adverts. Just the nature of the beast.
I'm rapidly going off 'The Race'.
It was intended as a joke. Doohan was ranked 21st, Colapinto 20th.
It was intended as a joke. Doohan was ranked 21st, Colapinto 20th.
Yeah, My response wasn't really aimed at your comment; just a general moan into the ether about that podcast in general.
Dunno - when I first started listening to it, I thought it was the most informative podcast for F1 with useful deep dives on specific subjects and a knowledgeable group of hosts. Now - not so much, although I do very much enjoy Gary Anderson's input.
Listen to pretty much any podcast these days and there's always adverts.
I do listen to a lot of podcasts & this is the only one I can think of that seems to have half the show taken up with a 'sponsored ad' segment. I can handle a 2/3-minute ad break where they might go on about Indeed, or one of those Wine companies or Better Help whatever.....but the show basically turned into an Atlassian advert with no real insight into the actual F1 stuff. Just salesman bullshit bingo 😁
Anyway - who's gonna win the championship!!?
Anyway - who's gonna win the championship!!?
I’m thinking Russell, because he’s consistently one of the best drivers on the grid and the rumours are that Mercedes will have the best engine again.
Thinking about it though, McLaren have been building a better car with the Mercedes engine than Mercedes have for the last two years, so I guess there’s no reason why they can’t carry on doing that next year as well
Anyway - who's gonna win the championship!!?
Shouldn't this sort of discussion be in the 26 thread so at the end of next season we can look back and see how wrong we all were.
Anyway - who's gonna win the championship!!?
I'm gonna say Leclerc. Ferrari stopped developing their car pretty early to focus on 2026, plus they will have more wind tunnel time. Pretty much nothing will carry over from this year's cars so the key thing will be how quickly teams can develop their cars next year. I'm sure Ferrari will find a way to blow it, but the new regs are their best chance to leapfrog back to the front.
I'm gonna say Leclerc. Ferrari stopped developing their car pretty early to focus on 2026, plus they will have more wind tunnel time. Pretty much nothing will carry over from this year's cars so the key thing will be how quickly teams can develop their cars next year. I'm sure Ferrari will find a way to blow it, but the new regs are their best chance to leapfrog back to the front.
Oh man I hope so, it would be great to see Hamilton win a couple of races again