McLaren has to improve in key area after just securing '25 drivers' title

McLaren dominated in the constructors' championship, and Lando Norris ended up winning the drivers' title for the first time in his career after he finished third at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The upcoming year, 2026, will be a blank slate for every team, and the advantage the Woking-based team built up this year could disappear.

If McLaren fights for the title once again, the team needs to improve at 'under-promising' and 'over-delivering'.

In 2024 and 2025, McLaren ended up fighting against Max Verstappen to claim the drivers' title. The first year, they were the chasers, while in 2025, they were the ones being chased.

In both campaigns however, it was Verstappen who controlled the narrative in the media, and faced less pressure. That is because the Dutchman could apply that approach to the highest extent. Especially in 2025, Verstappen was able to highlight he is not under pressure at all after Red Bull's shortcomings during the first half of the season.

Constant questions about papaya rules did not help the Woking-based team as Verstappen cut the gap almost every week.

Being in the lead, it has to be acknowledged that it is not easy to 'under-promise'. Next year will be a clean slate, where McLaren will need to improve in this regard to have an easier time in the difficult situation of dealing with a stressful title battle, should they find themselves in another title fight.

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