Spanish GP: Have McLaren built a big enough championship lead over Max Verstappen before rule change?

Oscar Piastri currently holds a narrow lead of just three points over his teammate Lando Norris after completing the initial third of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Despite McLaren`s strong start, Max Verstappen remains a significant threat, trailing Piastri by 25 points heading into this weekend`s Spanish Grand Prix.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is traditionally considered a track that highlights a car`s overall performance capabilities, often serving as a benchmark for the rest of the season. Adding intrigue this year is a technical crackdown involving a stricter load test for flexible front wings. This regulatory change raises questions about whether McLaren will be able to maintain their current pace advantage over the competition.

In the Constructors` Championship, McLaren has established a commanding lead, sitting 152 points ahead of Mercedes and 156 points clear of Red Bull. However, the tight competition between their own drivers, Norris and Piastri, has meant they have taken potential points away from each other in the Drivers` Championship battle. This contrasts with Verstappen, who has largely been able to maximize his results without significant direct challenge from his teammate.

Although McLaren currently possesses a slight edge in performance, this situation could quickly evolve. Rival teams are continuously developing upgrades, and their understanding of their cars will improve throughout the season. This weekend in Spain, the introduction of the new front wing load test is a key factor. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has commented that this rule change is expected to “have an impact.”

Should this technical adjustment negatively affect McLaren`s performance, potentially allowing Verstappen to consistently challenge for victories based purely on pace, it raises a strategic question for the team`s leadership, Zak Brown and Andrea Stella: Will they regret not having designated a clear number one driver earlier?

Why McLaren Isn`t Designating a Number One Driver

Speaking on The F1 Show, Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft argued that McLaren`s substantial points lead effectively settles the debate about whether they need to prioritize one driver over the other. Croft highlighted McLaren`s stated approach: pursuing the team`s best interests while simultaneously preserving the interests of their drivers. From a fan perspective, he noted, this approach is preferable as it encourages genuine racing without resorting to team orders or one driver sacrificing their race for a teammate.

Croft emphasized that McLaren is successfully accumulating points for the Constructors` Championship while allowing Norris and Piastri to compete freely for the Drivers` title. He believes there is no strategic benefit to forcing a hierarchy now, as doing so would likely cause dissatisfaction and potentially hasten the departure of either Lando or Oscar from the team.

Potential Strategy Shift if Verstappen Closes the Gap

Verstappen has secured victories in two races so far this season, in Suzuka and Imola. The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola is perhaps the only race where Red Bull could arguably claim to have had a stronger car than McLaren. Sky Sports F1`s Simon Lazenby offered a different perspective to Croft`s, suggesting that if Verstappen remains closely involved in the title fight during the latter half of the season, McLaren might find it necessary to consolidate support behind whichever of their drivers is leading the championship standings. He speculated whether they might ultimately “put all their eggs in the basket” of the leading driver, potentially using the second driver strategically, perhaps as a defensive buffer, reminiscent of strategies seen in races like the Monaco Grand Prix.

Sky Sports F1 analyst Bernie Collins added that team intervention, such as issuing team orders, is most likely to occur if the drivers` on-track battles lead to collisions that risk the team`s position in the Constructors` Championship. However, she also pointed out that once the Constructors` title is mathematically secured, there would be even less incentive for the team to tell their drivers to hold position. Collins concluded that McLaren CEO Zak Brown aims to win both the Drivers` and Constructors` championships and will manage the team and drivers to achieve this ambitious goal while keeping both drivers as content as possible.

Spanish Grand Prix Schedule

This European triple header concludes with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.