McLaren best placed to do a double Formula 1 title scoop in 2025

After the summer break, Lando Norris had a feeble title tilt fizzle out as the focus was the F1 Constructors' title from the moment the McLaren MCL38 became the pick of the grid.

Eight pole position starts for Norris, most in the latter half of the season. Notably in the final qualifying of the season for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when teams lay it all out, McLaren annexed the front row with Oscar Piastri in P2, with Norris P1 by a couple of tenths.

This is probably the gap they enjoy over the next best in the F1 pecking order when guns are fully ablaze. Between that and half a second is the gap they appeared to have enjoyed on race days. Including the season finale, which Norris won.

With the current F1 rules in the final season in 2025, the pecking order should not change much, suggesting McLaren has a very good chance of keeping that momentum going by evolving the World Champion MCL38 chassis.

Ex-F1 driver turned FIA Race Steward and occasional punter, Johnny Herbert believes McLaren has a golden opportunity and advice for Norris: "All Lando has got to do is use his elbows a little bit more, and he will be the complete driver. Oscar maybe won’t help his teammate.

"Lando has learnt his lessons. Heard all the chatter that has been going on and, at the moment, has that ultimate speed, which Oscar might not have shown consistently this year. Lando has a massive chance next year. Next year is McLaren's best chance to have a world-champion driver too.

"2026 is all too up in the air with the new developments. There is no reason, though, why McLaren can’t keep their momentum going. They have a very good infrastructure, one of the best in F1, and a great mix of people throughout the team, not least to cope with the changes coming in 2026.

"This could well be a throwback to the days when McLaren was always the team to beat," ventured Herbert.

History shows that in 1998, McLaren won the F1 Constructors title, and their driver, Mika Hakkinen, claimed his first world title. Prior to that, they did the double when Senna triumphed for them in 1991, and along with Gerhard Berger, they contributed to that year's Constructors triumph.