McLaren Are Dominating F1 In 2025… But Jacky Ickx Says Their Biggest Problem Is Still To Come

• McLaren leads both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships after nine races, with Piastri and Norris winning seven of them.
• Jacky Ickx warns of internal tension, saying two evenly matched drivers creates tension.
• The real threat to McLaren might not be Red Bull — but their own garage, as the team navigates a title fight between its two stars.

In 2025, McLaren have done what once seemed impossible: they’ve broken Red Bull’s unprecedented era of dominance Formula 1.

After just nine races, the papaya squad leads both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, comfortably, with Australian driver Oscar Piastri sitting on top of the standings with 186 points. Lando Norris, his teammate, is just 10 points behind. Between them, they’ve won seven of the season’s nine Grands Prix.

For all the talk about the potential of a Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton partnership, Ferrari are trailing behind. Red Bull, already with a new-look pairing from the start of the season, are hanging on to their title, whilst Mercedes is nowhere near.

As far as stats go, McLaren have already claimed the psychological championship. But inside the garage, a more delicate race is playing out; one that motorsport legend Jacky Ickx knows better than most.

“Your teammate, while not an enemy, is your biggest competitor,” Ickx told DMARGE during an exclusive sit-down inside the Chopard boutique in Sydney, arranged in partnership with the Swiss watchmaker he’s represented for over 38 years.

“To make a team progress, you need mutual understanding. You need to talk and work together to improve the car. But that’s not easy when you both want the same title.”

McLaren’s early-season results read like a coronation. Piastri has taken five wins in China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Miami and Spain; Norris secured an opening-round victory in Australia and delivered a historic masterclass in Monaco.

They’ve been consistently quicker, cleaner and more composed than every other team on the grid. But as Ickx points out, there’s a problem currently brewing at McLaren; one that’s the result of having two drivers that are too good across the board.

“It doesn’t work.”

Jacky Ickx, former Formula 1 driver

“The ideal setup is to have a number one and a number two. When both drivers go at the same speed, it creates tension,” Ickx tells DMARGE.

McLaren might not say it publicly, but their biggest competitor right now isn’t Red Bull’s Max Verstappen; it’s themselves. The four-time world champion is currently third in the standings with 137 points; the last driver standing to take the championship to McLaren with two wins to his name. But Piastri and Norris are seemingly pulling clear. The only unknown is which one McLaren will quietly favour… and when.

“Fans hate team orders,” Ickx says. “They want to see the battle reach the end. But in the end, there’s only one winner. Second place? It’s the first loser. And it’s not the same at all.”

Ickx knows this dynamic better than most. The Chopard ambassador’s career stretched across Formula 1, Le Mans and Dakar, where he racked up six wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and partnered with drivers like Derek Bell, Mario Andretti, and Jochen Mass. In endurance racing, he says, success comes not from beating your teammate, but trusting them.

“In long-distance racing, the two drivers shouldn’t compete against each other. The idea is to win and to protect the car. If you share that philosophy, it works,” he said. “Formula 1, though, doesn’t offer that luxury. When you have two kids who go at the same speed, you have to live with it. But it’s very difficult.”

Still, Ickx isn’t criticising McLaren’s approach. If anything, he’s admiring their problem. “Today, endurance is a long sprint. It’s flat out,” he says. “Like Formula 1, there are talented people everywhere, and the bar is very high.”

That bar has never been higher for McLaren. They’re leading both championships, have a young superstar in Piastri, and a consistent front-runner in Norris. But managing the next 15 races may prove more challenging than winning the first nine. Because as Jacky Ickx reminds us: “The only problem is… there is only one winner.”