Is a McLaren Championship Win Unavoidable?
With 24 podiums and 11 Grand Prix victories this season, McLaren seems unstoppable. Now at the halfway point of 2025, McLaren reigns over the Constructor’s Standings with a 299-point lead over Ferrari in second place. Their success comes from both internal and external factors, a strong team all-around, and other teams floundering of their own accord, but the result is the same. For anyone hoping to have a shot at the 2025 Constructor’s Championship, it’s an uphill battle.
It should be obvious by now that the McLaren MCL39 is far and away the fastest car on the grid. Evidence for this is easy to find; aside from the immense success the Papaya duo has found this season, even the less experienced Formula Two driver Alex Dunne was able to achieve the fourth fastest lap during practice in Austria while standing in for Lando Norris. In Belgium, Oscar Piastri took the MCL39 to new heights, setting a new record for the fastest lap on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, beating Lewis Hamilton’s previous record set in 2017. To top it all off, at the Hungaroring circuit in Hungary, McLaren saw another one-two victory with Norris at the top. The two McLaren drivers had been fighting intensely in the final laps, with a gap of less than 0.7 seconds between them. George Russell took third, and though the race had been going well for him, he still found himself more than 20 seconds behind Piastri when they crossed the finish line.
Naturally, the car can’t be given all the credit. In 2024, Norris and Piastri were recognized for their respective abilities, and the two haven’t let up in 2025. As it stands, both drivers individually have more points in the Driver’s Standings than any team -- excluding McLaren -- has in the Constructor’s Standings, 285 points for Piastri and 275 for Norris. As a result, their only rivals for the season are each other. Practically alternating victories, they’ve reached the top of the podium together seven times this season, leaving the other teams fighting for third place. They’ve achieved the most one-two finishes in an F1 season since 2017, and 2025 is only halfway over.
Meanwhile, the other teams seem unable to bring their best to the fight. Scuderia Ferrari’s acquisition of Lewis Hamilton looked promising, but he hasn’t been competing at the level of his prime. While the racers at Mercedes-AMG have been strong given the loss of their former champion, they have only been able to achieve one victory in 2025 so far. Red Bull team Oracle has been unable to deliver a car that can keep pace, even with four-time world champion Max Verstappen behind the wheel. As previously mentioned, each of these teams would need more than double their current points to reach McLaren and take the championship.
With the gap in the standings as big as it is, many of the teams may have given up hope on a victory this year, instead looking ahead to 2026. The new regulations coming in the next season are expected to level the field significantly, as all teams will be developing new cars, possibly ending the dominance of McLaren’s MCL39. Until then, McLaren’s victory looks absolute. The drivers have hit their stride, pushing their skills to the limit in a car that can handle the heat. At this point, it would take a disaster to shake McLaren’s lead.
