Lando Norris’s single-seater was badly damaged on its floor
Winner in Australia, the British driver had to defend his position at the end of the race against Max Verstappen's Red Bull. For Andrea Stella, there's nothing to worry about, as the car was damaged.
A victory to kick off the championship well. Often struggling at the start of the season, McLaren this time perfectly began their 2025 campaign with Lando Norris’s win. However, the race was not without its challenges. While the weekend showed that the orange car was the fastest, it had to withstand pressure from Max Verstappen in the final laps, who was in the DRS zone, a moment that somewhat worried the team, which seemed to have control of the race. However, team principal Andrea Stella downplayed the situation by explaining that if the Dutch four-time world champion was able to stay close to Lando Norris, it was because the car had sustained damage.
A problem we had at the end of the race with Lando was that his floor was very damaged. He lost – I haven’t heard the exact figures yet – but he lost aerodynamic performance, which prevented him from fully exploiting the car’s potential, the Italian analyzed in front of the media, including Planet F1, before adding: Under normal circumstances, it shouldn’t have been so complicated for Lando.
Tricky conditions throughout the race.
Indeed, everything had started perfectly for the Briton despite difficult racing conditions and a very lively start to the race, even before the start, with the accident of the Frenchman Isack Hadjar during the formation lap. From the first lap, Jack Doohan came to damage his Alpine before Carlos Sainz retired after an accident in the last corner during the intervention of the Safety Car.
Nevertheless, when the race resumed, Norris immediately set his pace, and when Piastri overtook Verstappen, the McLarens proved to be significantly superior to other cars with intermediate tires, sometimes running nearly a second faster than the competition. However, when the drivers were on dry tires, a shower from the 44th lap completely changed the situation. During this lap, both McLarens were caught out and went off track. While Norris was eventually able to return to the pits without losing too much time, Piastri spun and only finished in ninth place.
At the end of the race, Norris had to hold off Max Verstappen. The Red Bull, although less competitive, finished right behind the McLaren without being able to mount a real attack. Currently, the Woking team does not yet know the causes of the damage sustained, although his off-track excursion on lap 44 is likely the main cause. Despite everything, Norris managed to resist until the end, proving that this year, he will be a contender for the title.
Norris: solid enough to fight for the title in 2025?
Now in a competitive single-seater every weekend, the man with five victories now in F1 must forget his mistakes from last year, and he knows he will have to be much stronger mentally against Max Verstappen, who once again emerges as his main rival, just like last year. The Dutchman will have the opportunity this weekend to take his revenge on the Shanghai circuit, which will also host the first sprint race of the year.
