A McLaren Preview to Miami: Looking Ahead from a Victorious Race in 2024
Miami 2024, where McLaren driver Lando Norris won his first-ever grand prix. The day Norris proved himself to be a Formula 1 race winner and started his battle with Max Verstappen, becoming a championship contender. Norris continues to light up when talking about that day, as he and his team only grew throughout the year, proving themselves to be a serious competitor to Red Bull. Following that race, Norris went on to win three more races in the Netherlands, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi, allowing for a strong rivalry to gain even more traction between him and his good friend off track, Max Verstappen. After this stellar growth in performance last year, landing Norris in second place in the WDC, he has become a greater contender for the championship in 2025.
Norris was previously leading the 2025 WDC, being the first McLaren driver to lead the championship since 2008 by Lewis Hamilton, where he went on to win the season. Yet, in the most recent race in Saudi Arabia, his teammate, Oscar Piastri, took a hold of the championship lead by winning the race. Now with the Miami Grand Prix just around the corner, many question if this will be the race that will provide the motivation needed for Norris to surpass his teammate once more.
While some may find this teammate battle to cause a great rivalry, the team as a whole could not be in a better position. Currently, McLaren is leading the Constructors’ championship with both drivers in the top two of the WDC. The team predicts that Piastri and Norris will both only get stronger as the season progresses, which leads others to wonder what battles rest in the future between the two teammates.
The first five races in the 2025 season have only shown McLaren’s dominance throughout this year, as they have only lost one grand prix and have had at least one driver podium every race. This strength has given McLaren a 77-point lead in the Constructors’ championship. So far this season, the team has had great motivation as they wish to continue to carry this momentum into this upcoming weekend in Miami. From the strong mentality the team holds from last year, which sparked the beginning of their dominance, they wish to continue to build on this energy to land good points in this race.
The main challenge that McLaren has acknowledged they will face this weekend is the possibilities of overtaking, as Miami remains a more challenging circuit than others. There are certain positions on track where proper battling can take place, and many teams will attempt to fight for points at these spots throughout the races of the weekend. A strong part of the track where overtaking is most possible is the DRS zone after turn 11 and another chance at turn 17. These aspects have been shared by many teams as it is a sprint weekend, thus overtaking is even more needed to chase the increase in given points this weekend. The McLaren team has shared that this is their biggest challenge of the grand prix, but will continue to run on the built momentum from the past few races and the atmosphere of the Magic City.
Written by Mira Johal
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