Column
'Raw' McLaren not ready for F1 fight: Sloppy mistakes and naive Norris
The United States Grand Prix proved McLaren is simply not ready to successfully fight for the F1 World Championship. Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have made great strides over recent years in various departments, including the technical team, but there is still significant room for improvement. They are 'too raw' to get the better of Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing.
Fortunately for McLaren, Red Bull's Sergio Perez cannot get close to Verstappen. That means they could end up winning the Constructors' Championship, as both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris can score significant points regularly. However, Ferrari's late surge could create an actual battle between now and Abu Dhabi. But it's a different story in the Drivers' Championship, as his team once again let down Norris.
Burying their heads in the sand
Even by his own admission, Norris is far from perfect. But a few simple tweaks from the team would've lowered his delta to Verstappen in the World Championship to less than 57 points. It was already obvious that Norris needed every point he could get during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, but McLaren forced Norris to give up the win. That's seven points down the drain.
In the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Norris secured pole position but had to take drastic action as his teammate forced his way through. Oscar Piastri's impressive overtake actually cost McLaren points in the Constructors' Championship. Given the broader context of the Drivers' Championship, a hold stations call from Stella would've made a lot of sense. Another nine points down the drain. The hypothetical gap is already reduced to 41 points, and that's just scratching the surface with two examples.
Of course, things could've played out differently in those hypothetical examples. But the McLaren crew repeatedly buried their heads in the sand, hoping that everything would turn out okay in the end. The most significant example of that came during the United States Grand Prix.
There's an argument to suggest that Norris himself should've known he wasn't ahead at the apex of turn 12. But it's absolutely fine to double-check this with the team that has access to the footage. It was immediately clear on the replay. There was no argument to be had. Losing the battle, but winning the war comes to mind. Norris needed to hand that place back. Any other belief just proves they either buckled under pressure or simply don't understand the F1 rules. Not good enough for a team that aspires to win the World Championships.
McLaren will learn the lessons and improve. They've shown they can do that. For example, the team quickly understood the strategy situation in Canada with the safety car. But there's no arguing against the fact that Red Bull's pit wall would have Norris significantly closer to, if not ahead of, Verstappen in the World Championship if they were running McLaren.