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McLaren witnessed a famous story at the Japanese Grand Prix – Max Verstappen won despite having an inferior car. Norris and Piastri paid the price for mistakes in qualifying, while the Dutchman further strengthened his position in the fight for the Suzuka title.
This does not mean that Norris and Piastri are weak drivers - their speed is not in doubt. However, it is undeniable that there is a difference between the McLaren driver and Verstappen. This puts the Woking team under extra pressure to continue to improve - despite already impressive progress.
However, according to Helmut Mark, Oscar Piastri was the fastest McLaren driver in Japan.
McLaren has to manage the relationship between Piastri and Norris
Although he achieved two victories last year, Oscar Piastri was objectively behind Lando Norris during the season. The Australian was mostly a step behind in qualifying, and he also had weaker control over the tires during the races.
However, clear signs of progress can already be observed in 2025. Piastri's race pace has been better than Norris' in at least two – and possibly three – races this year.
He's also much closer in qualifying – he was just 0.044 seconds off pole position in Japan, despite a big mistake in Q3 that cost him at least two tenths.
Given the obviously better start to the 2025 season, the battle between McLaren's drivers will be even more intense this year. Additionally, the rules for 2026 are a complete unknown, and both drivers know that this season could be their best chance to win the title.
In theory, having two competitive drivers is an advantage.
Last year's constructors' standings made it clear that relying on one driver is not a viable strategy in modern Formula 1. However, given Max Verstappen's ruthless nature, McLaren cannot afford their drivers to take points away from each other.
New Papaya Rules
Of course, there is always the possibility that the team from Woking will increase the margin over Red Bull. Marko believes that Piastri and Norris should have switched positions in Japan
"They choose the strategy themselves," said Marko. "It looked like Piastri was the faster driver."
"The question is whether he could overtake Max, because it's a completely different story on this track. But maybe this is a new version of the Papaya rule," noted the Austrian.
"We would have swapped drivers, but McLaren have Papaya rules, and they are their own rules."
As McLaren boss Andrea Stella explained after the race, due to the difficulty of overtaking in Japan, it would be difficult for Piastri to get ahead. However, this is not the first time McLaren has had to make tough decisions when their drivers are very close on track.
As this year's title race heats up, it will be revealed how well the Woking team are up to the challenge.bSo far, they have failed to consistently capitalize on their car's performance advantage.
It is crucial that this is resolved as soon as possible - especially if Red Bull's upcoming upgrades bring positive results.
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