Formula 1: The rising star who could benefit from McLaren turmoil
McLaren have been near the top with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri during the 2024 Formula 1 season. Both drivers have been competitive, even battling it out with each other sometimes.
With the British driver chasing down Max Verstappen in an attempt to win his first world championship, his Australian teammate has not been willing to back down and compromise his own race.
Both drivers are under contract until the end of 2026, but a rising tension within the team could perhaps lead to one of them departing before that. Though McLaren’s “papaya rules” have been in place this season, that could change, as team principal Andrea Stella has suggested using team orders for the remaining eight races to help Norris catch up to Verstappen in the standings.
Piastri, on the other hand, has taken a massive step forward this season and is too good to be playing second fiddle to Norris. In other words, he does not want to be like Valtteri Bottas during his tenure at Mercedes or Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2021. Rising tensions could lead to an internal blowup within the team, and one driver could benefit heavily.
Gabriel Bortoleto appears to be next up
Gabriel Bortoleto, who has been a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme since 2023, has put himself in contention for this season’s Formula 2 title after winning last year's Formula 3 championship.
He has also put himself in consideration for Sauber’s second seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg next year. Just recently, McLaren gave the green light for Bortoleto to negotiate with Sauber, under the condition he can return to the team if they need him to.
The 19-year-old Brazilian driver is quite talented and could join the list of drivers who won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships in back-to-back seasons, a list that also includes Piastri, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell. Arguably his best performance to date came at Monza in the sprint race a few weekends ago, when he started from P22 and won.
Next. Formula 1 needs to make a crucial decision soon, before it's too late. Formula 1 needs to make a crucial decision soon, before it's too late. dark
McLaren’s situation in 2025 should be carefully watched, as they could be even more dominant, meaning that both drivers could battle against each other more often. Added tension could put Bortoleto in position join McLaren in 2026 or 2027, at which point he would presumably already have some Formula 1 experience and could be competitive right from the beginning.
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