McLaren’s duo, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, share a unified feeling with the MCL39 as testing kicks off in Bahrain ahead of 2025.
Lando Norris and McLaren F1 Start the 2025 Season on Top in Bahrain
Lando Norris and McLaren F1 kicked off the 2025 season with the fastest time on the opening day of winter testing. The 2024 vice-world champion was pleased with the performance and enjoyed driving the MCL39 at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain.
“It’s nice to be back in an F1 car! A big thanks to the team for getting everything ready for today. It was a good day on track, fun, and we made progress with the many tests we wanted to complete. I’m looking forward to pushing the car a bit more in the coming days,” Norris said.
Oscar Piastri echoed the sentiment, sharing a positive feeling at the wheel of Woking’s brand-new challenger.
“The first proper day with the MCL39 is done. Thanks to everyone in the team for preparing a good car for us today.”
“It was a productive morning for me, as we tried quite a few different things, and it was really nice to be back on track. There are still many areas to cover in the coming days to keep pushing the car and seeing how it performs, but overall, it was a solid day.”
Conditions were tricky, and Piastri regretted that Norris’s stint was cut short.
“It was a bit challenging, the car is handling well, and we’re working on putting it in a better window, trying different things—that’s what the first day is for. The red flag wasn’t ideal, but we’re in good shape.”
“[Norris] didn’t get many laps in, but we’re on the same wavelength, and that’s what we want. Everything is working as it should, and that’s the most important thing. We’re quite happy, even if it’s hard to know who is doing what. We need to understand the car and how the changes affect it.”
The Australian discussed his preparation for the 2025 season and his expectations:
“That’s the goal, that’s what I’m preparing for—aiming for both championships. But it takes a lot of hard work, and it starts much earlier; then we try to keep progressing. It’s going to be a good year, it already looks tight. It’s going to be an exciting season in Formula 1.”
Andrea Stella, the team principal, was relatively positive about the team’s day—unlike last year—and believes the data collected will be crucial.
“A productive first day for the MCL39 in official testing.”
“The team and drivers did a good job managing a busy run plan, and we end the day with a lot more information. Oscar focused mainly on aerodynamic tests this morning, and we then developed our baseline setup with Lando in the afternoon, making further adjustments.”
“Today’s conditions were cooler than usual and also windy, which created challenges on track for everyone. Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of the team both at the track and in the UK, we gathered a lot of valuable data to build on for tomorrow.”
- Discover More>Racing Bulls kick off Sakhir testing with solid mileage
- Follow us on >Facebook and >Twitter for F1 updates
Piastri & Norris Aligned as McLaren Begins 2025 Testing Strong Piastri & Norris Aligned as McLaren Begins 2025 Testing Strong
