McLaren Hasn't Had A Stable Driver Lineup In 25 Seasons, Secures Piastri And Norris Through At Least 2028
McLaren won its first Formula 1 World Constructors' Championship since 1998 last year with driver pairing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. As of Wednesday morning, with Piastri's pre-season contract extension until at least the end of the 2027 season, the team has secured this championship-winning driver pairing for at least the next three seasons. Norris and Piastri have been paired together since Piastri joined the team in 2023, giving them a minimum of five seasons together by the time their commitments come to a close. McLaren hasn't had this kind of steady and reliable driving talent since long-serving champ Mika Häkkinen (paired with David Coulthard for six seasons) left F1 after the 2001 season.
There is something to be said for maintaining a steady hand when you've got a pair of drivers who work well together and are both capable of winning in the right machinery. Piastri may not have all of Norris' outright speed, but he's a reliable driver who can score points when needed. Norris netted four wins for McLaren in 2024, while Piastri won two Grands Prix. Extending Piastri's contract just makes too much sense, as the team doesn't want thinking about contracts or perhaps being courted by another team to distract him from the job of going fast.
Read more: Cale Yarborough Won The Daytona 500 In A Show Car Borrowed From A Local Hardee's Restaurant
Across 2024 McLaren acted under the "Papaya Rules" which was a thinly veiled code word which allowed drivers Norris and Piastri to race each other for position, but they had to be clean about it. This was basically a message to Lando Norris that the team wouldn't artificially slow Piastri down in order to keep him behind Lando or use his on-track presence to enhance Lando's race. The team modified how it responded to the season as Norris became the only driver who could potentially hold up to Red Bull's dominant Max Verstappen on points, and began pushing Piastri to assist his teammate in their championship push. If they'd committed to this practice from race one, they might have been able to push Lando to his first driver's championship. As it was, however, Max went on to grab his fourth in a row.
All of the best dynasties in racing place a single driver on the point as their primary focus with their teammate playing support. Ferrari did this with Michael Schumacher and it upended every record book the series had ever written. Mercedes supported Lewis Hamilton through this, to a lesser extent, and Red Bull is doing it right now with Max at the helm. In order for McLaren to repeat as constructors' champions, it will need to push both drivers to perform at their best, but pushing one driver to the point will help gain every valuable point in the season. That neither driver has to worry about their contract is a great start to a potentially great season. McLaren looked fastest in pre-season testing, but there's a long way to go and a lot of miles to race between here and the end of the season at Abu Dhabi in early December.
The F1 season begins this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. We won't really know how fast McLaren is until we see all the cars compete on track. It's been a short off-season, but I'm ready to have my heart broken by agonizingly boring and processional racing again. Let's go!
Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox...
Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Prime Tire: The other sad F1 race clash. Plus, McLaren struggles early in Canada
Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic's twice-weekly F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday. Welcome back to Prime Tire, where the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix is getting underway on the same weekend as another major motorsport race. In the week when it was confirmed the 2026 Montreal race will clash directly with the 110th Indianapolis 500, which caused consternation for many motorsport followers, the 93rd Le Mans 24 Hours is also taking place. And next year, this famous race will now run on the same weekend as what could be Formula 1's final visit to Barcelona. I'm Alex, and Luke Smith will be along later, but here's what fans are missing in motorsport's other frustrating major race clash. McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown once told me that if he was being 'really greedy', he'd love for his orange teams to win F1's Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and Le Mans all in one year. Well, today that dream took a step closer to becoming reality when it was announced how McLaren's 2027 World Endurance Championship entry will work. Advertisement The Hypercar squad is going to be run by current Jaguar Formula E team boss James Barclay — a big motorsport fan in his own right and a historics racer to boot. He'd surely love to field either of Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris in McLaren's first Hypercar Le Mans appearance. But even for motorsport dreamers such as I, Nico Hulkenberg — who famously won Le Mans for Porsche while employed full-time in F1 back in 2015 — reckons the expanded F1 calendar makes this too tough an ask these days. No matter the glorious spread of good-looking cars, an iconic track and the emotion-sapping nature of a 24-hour race. 'Everyone was a lot less busy (in 2015),' the Sauber driver recently told Reuters. '24 races, all the stuff in between, it's a full-time job. I can only talk for myself but, personally, I wouldn't want the extra gig at the moment.' Fernando Alonso is the most recent full-time F1 driver to win Le Mans — in 2018 with Toyota. But more of the current crop want to follow in his footsteps than have a crack at Indy, which Alonso has also tried (and failed, three times) to win. Charles Leclerc wants to race at Le Mans with his brother Arthur, while Max Verstappen is committed to one day entering the race with his father. Ferrari goes into this weekend's race hoping for a third successive Le Mans win since its return to top-flight sportscar racing in 2023, but it's never going to sanction its long-term F1 star moonlighting in another category. Red Bull even once stopped Verstappen demonstrating an F1 car on the Nurburgring Nordschleife because it didn't want him pushing the limits on that fearsome track… Events directly clashing make dreams of F1 superstars racing elsewhere relentlessly impossible. The hyper-professional modern era means it's a contractual nightmare too. But that doesn't make such wishes any less valid. Advertisement F1 is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the formation of the world championship this year and not only were the drivers of yesteryear regular Le Mans entrants and winners, but for 11 years, the Indy 500 was itself on the F1 calendar. Far too quickly, such history is ignored and success in different categories is a brilliant way to demonstrate driving desire and racing versatility. Now, the annual bumper Le Mans and Indy crowds demonstrate the health of these races alongside F1's current might even with these clashes. That is excellent and this isn't an attempt to pit one series against another. As Jeff Gluck sagely noted, that's just a weird thing to do when you love racing cars. But one day again having F1 drivers — many endlessly sim racing anyway away from F1 events — blasting down the Mulsanne straight with the sun setting is still a thought worth savouring. And if in the coming years F1 and Le Mans can be prised apart, Verstappen, sorry, Franz Hermann, with his sportscar team already operational, would be my bet for the next grand prix star taking up the endurance racing challenge. Now, speaking of Max… There was always going to be a big crowd for Max Verstappen's media call yesterday in Montreal. It was the first time he'd spoken since the clash with George Russell in Spain that put him on the brink of a race ban. The obvious question was: would that change anything? It was so packed in Red Bull's hospitality unit that even for Yuki Tsunoda's prior media session, it quickly became standing room only. Once Tsunoda was done, Verstappen took his teammate's seat — and showed zero sign of any mentality shift. The first thing he mentioned as being different for this week was jet lag, not the fact that even a minor infraction between now and the Austrian Grand Prix later in June could lead to him being benched for a race. He just didn't have a lot to say about the possibility of such a ban, dodging a question about the merits of the penalty point system and then deadpanning it would be 'not ideal' if he were to be temporarily sidelined. Advertisement The clear message, both through Verstappen's words and his body language, is that he won't be changing. Yes, there was an acceptance that what happened in Spain wasn't right, as detailed in his social media post in the aftermath of that controversy. But the message was very much that he'll still be racing hard. And it's not like there's even a lot to lose if he were to miss a race, given his own bleak outlook for the 2025 championship given McLaren's advantage. It was all very predictable. As I wrote after Spain, Max will never change. It's got him this far. Don't expect the potential ban to be anything like enough of a deterrent for his uncompromising approach. But did we really expect anything different? Last week, I interviewed former Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner in The Athletic's London office. No-nonsense as ever — and without a single swear word — we caught up on what he's up to these days, 18 months after he left what will soon be one of two American squads on the grid. The standout newsline was that he could soon appear more frequently in yet another motorsport sphere. If negotiations with the Tech3 MotoGP team come to fruition on Steiner's investment offer, he could end up being team CEO. This could even end up being a full takeover of the team currently tied to the financially embattled KTM marque. But, Steiner being Steiner, the conversation was varied. Here's some highlights: Here are the main takeaways from today's on-track action in Canada: We're not running an F1 liveblog for this race weekend, but stay tuned when the action resumes at the always exciting Austrian round at the end of June. 💃 The controversial F175 season-opening show seems destined not to be repeated in 2026, according to this report. 💥 It's missing Kevin Magnussen's massive qualifying crash for Haas in 2019, but this rundown of famous shunts into Canada's Wall of Champions is always worth watching when F1 is in Montreal. Magnussen, racing for BMW at Le Mans this weekend, qualifies for that famous list as a Formula Renault 3.5 champion from 2013… 🇨🇦 What to know more about the groundhogs that usually appear during the Canadian GP weekend? Look no further than this comprehensive explanation from your Tuesday PT host Patrick Iversen. 📫 Love Prime Tire? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters.
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Ferrari boss hits back at Italian media spreading rumours: ‘Too much is too much'
MONTREAL - Fred Vasseur made a brief cameo in the 'F1' blockbuster movie coming to theatres this month. The Ferrari team principal wonders if the big-screen audition might help him land a second career in acting, since so many Italian newspapers are calling for his ousting. 'I'm looking for a new job,' he said, filling a news conference room with laughter Friday at the Canadian Grand Prix. Multiple reports suggest Vasseur's future is under threat at Ferrari as top-tier drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc fall short of race wins so far this season. Some outlets have also written that Leclerc might take his talents to another garage. And speculation that the 40-year-old Hamilton might retire is routine — even though he's only just joined Ferrari on a multi-year contract. 'I have to stay calm, because I will have to finish at the stewards,' Vasseur said, hoping not to get fined. 'It's some Italian media, it's not all Italian media. 'I don't understand the target. Perhaps it's to give (crap) to the team, but in this case, I don't see the point. Perhaps it's for them the only way to exist. This is probably more the reason, but it's really hurting the team.' Vasseur joined Ferrari in 2023 and came 17 points shy of securing its first constructors' championship since 2008 last year. The prestigious Italian outfit — with a record 16 titles — is on a quest to return to its past dominance and had expectations of competing for a championship this season. Ferrari, however, trails McLaren by 197 points despite ranking second in the constructors' standings heading into Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix — the 10th stop of the 24-race circuit. For reference, a driver earns 25 points for one win. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, joined Ferrari in a highly anticipated move last winter but has yet to reach the podium in red. He and Leclerc — who has reached three podiums — rank sixth and fifth, respectively, in the drivers' championship. Despite his relatively slow start with Ferrari, Hamilton came to the defence of his boss Thursday. 'I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top,' he said. 'To me, it's all nonsense what people have written.' 'And also, to everyone writing stories of me considering not racing — I literally only just started here with Ferrari. I'm here for several years, and I'm here for the long haul,' he later added. 'There's zero doubts. Please stop making stuff up.' As for the Leclerc rumours, the Monégasque driver was shocked to hear them. Leclerc is racing in his seventh season with Ferrari and under a long-term contract. 'I have no idea where it's coming from,' Leclerc said. 'I've never said anything of this in the last few races. If anything, I keep saying how much I love the team and how much I want to bring back Ferrari to the top.' Added Vasseur: 'Each single interview from the beginning of the season, he is telling that he wants to stay with Ferrari, he wants to win with Ferrari, his future is with Ferrari. But every single Monday we have an article telling that, 'Ah, Charles will go next year.'' Even former Ferrari pilot Carlos Sainz Jr., who Hamilton replaced as Leclerc's teammate, chimed in. 'The moment that the results don't click in Ferrari, there's always finger-pointing by the media, and all this chaos happening,' said Sainz, who now races for Williams. Leclerc finished third last time out at the Spanish Grand Prix, while Hamilton placed sixth. Hamilton said both drivers had issues 'hindering us massively' midway through the race, calling it 'the worst-feeling car I'd ever had.' Ferrari has apparently solved the issue heading into the Canadian Grand Prix, although Friday's first free practice was far from ideal. Leclerc crashed his front left wheel into the wall at Turn 4 less than 10 minutes into the session. He needed a new chassis and missed the second free practice. 'None of us is satisfied with how it's going at the moment, that's clear. We came into the season thinking that we had chances to challenge McLaren and Red Bull in order to win the championship,' Leclerc said Thursday. 'If we compare ourselves to our other competitors, apart from McLaren, it's not like we are having a shocking season. 'We just need to find ourselves as well, just like Mercedes, just like Red Bull, needs to find the outstanding thing that McLaren have found.' Mercedes' George Russell posted the fastest lap in the second free practice at one minute 12.123 seconds, followed by McLaren's Lando Norris (1:12.151) and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli (1:12.411). Hamilton drove around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 1:12.653 — the eighth fastest time — on a sunny, 19 C day in Montreal. Another session takes place Saturday afternoon before qualifying. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2025.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mercedes' George Russell fastest in second practice for Canadian Grand Prix
George Russell raised hope of a first Mercedes win of the season after he finished fastest in second practice for the Canadian Grand Prix. The British driver, who took pole position in Montreal last year, edged out McLaren compatriot Lando Norris, with Kimi Antonelli underlining Mercedes' speed to set the third quickest time. Advertisement Championship leader Oscar Piastri was only sixth, with Lewis Hamilton eighth, one place ahead of Max Verstappen, who had earlier finished fastest in the first running of the weekend. Russell has been one of the grid's standout performers this season with four podium finishes already under his belt, matching the tally he managed for the entire 2024 campaign. At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Friday, Russell's lap of one minute and 12.123 seconds was the fastest of the day to leave Norris trailing. McLaren have dominated the campaign so far, but in practice here they appeared to be lacking the advantage which has carried them to seven wins from the nine races staged. Advertisement Norris was in striking range of Russell, just 0.028sec behind the Mercedes man, but Piastri was 0.439sec off the pace, having finished the first practice session in 14th. Lando Norris trailed George Russell by 0.028 seconds in second practice (Evan Buhler/AP) Williams' Alex Albon took fourth, with Fernando Alonso fifth, but the two-time world champion's Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll crashed out. Stroll, who had a medical procedure on a wrist injury which prevented him from contesting the Spanish Grand Prix a fortnight ago, thudded into the concrete wall at turn seven to bring an abrupt end to his session. The Canadian was the day's second major casualty after Charles Leclerc's preparations for the rest of the weekend were dealt a blow when he suffered a heavy accident with just nine laps on the board in first practice. Advertisement The Monegasque crashed into the barrier on the entry to turn four and sustained significant damage to the left-hand side of his Ferrari. The force of the impact sent him sideways and across the other side of the chicane. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc completed just nine laps after he crashed out of first practice (Christopher Katsarov/AP) 'F***,' said Leclerc on the radio. 'Sorry, I am in the wall. My bad. I should have gone straight, but I thought I would make the corner and I hit the wall.' Leclerc's survival cell on his Ferrari needed replacing which sidelined him for the remainder of the day. His accident marked an underwhelming day for Ferrari which will have done little to lift the gloom around the Italian team with Hamilton 0.530 sec slower than the pace-setting Russell.
