In the high-speed world of Formula 1, where every second is calculated and every decision can change destinies, pressure is an unavoidable constant. But sometimes, that pressure doesn’t just come from rivals on the track; it emanates from within the team itself. And that is precisely what is unfolding at McLaren, a team once lauded for its unity and the model relationship between its two talented young drivers: Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. However, new evidence from the chaotic Baku Grand Prix has pulled back the curtain on a harsh reality: the internal tension at McLaren is not just present—it’s exploding, threatening to shatter their championship dreams.

For much of the season, Piastri and Norris have demonstrated remarkable synergy, chasing the same grand dream without clashing. They handled the pressure of a title fight with an almost unthinkable composure. Yet, in Azerbaijan, the mask slipped. The events in Baku were more than just a poor set of results; they revealed the first signs of a fracture in a partnership that McLaren desperately needs to keep intact if they are to finish the season as champions.

Piastri’s Collapse and Norris’s Missed Opportunity

Oscar Piastri, the man who had been praised for his precision and unshakable focus, endured one of his toughest weekends of the year. A false start, a crash in qualifying, and another in the race left him empty-handed. His composure was visibly rattled, a kind of collapse that doesn’t just cost points but raises a critical question: can he truly withstand the suffocating pressure of a title run?

On the other side of the garage, Lando Norris saw an opportunity to strike. He is considered the team’s undeniable spearhead. But his seventh-place finish felt more like a missed chance than a statement of intent. When one driver stumbles, the other is supposed to rise. But in Baku, both faltered. And in the space left behind, the tension between them began to grow, louder than ever before.

The cracks at McLaren did not appear out of nowhere, but Baku made them impossible to ignore. When Oscar Piastri clipped the wall in qualifying, it was more than just a mistake; it was a shift in perception. Until then, he had been the steady hand, the driver who built his championship lead not through flashy wins but through consistency, calmness, and the ability to deliver every weekend without fuss. In Azerbaijan, that aura crumbled. For the first time, people saw him under genuine pressure. His reaction was messy: the false start at lights out set him on the back foot immediately, and the later misjudgment into the barriers confirmed what many had feared—that even the most composed drivers can unravel when the weight of expectation becomes suffocating.

The fallout from that was not limited to the points he lost. It rippled across the garage, creating a sense that the balance between him and Lando Norris had been disturbed. Norris, for his part, should have seized the moment. With his teammate self-destructing, this was the perfect chance to flip the momentum and stamp his authority on the title race. Instead, seventh place told a different story. He struggled to extract the maximum from the car, hampered by questionable tire strategy and a slow pit stop that robbed him of positions he desperately needed. That inability to capitalize on Piastri’s nightmare left the impression of a driver caught in limbo, neither strong enough to lead the charge nor willing to accept being cast as a supporting act. The frustration was visible in his posture, his tone in interviews, and even the silence in his radio messages. For Norris, Baku felt like a personal defeat, not because of where he finished, but because of what he failed to achieve when the opportunity was right there.

The Shadow of Max Verstappen

Into this fragile atmosphere stepped Max Verstappen, and his presence made everything worse for McLaren. Red Bull’s season had looked to be in decline earlier in the year, but Baku marked their resurgence. Verstappen’s victory was clinical, commanding, and completely devoid of drama—the kind of performance that only intensifies the psychological blow for rivals. He didn’t just win; he made it look easy while McLaren stumbled. For a team that had spent months in control of the championship narrative, the sight of Verstappen slicing into their lead was a brutal reminder that the most dangerous driver in modern Formula 1 is never truly out of the fight.

A 69-point deficit is still large, but the trajectory is what matters. Momentum is everything, and Verstappen has it. The evidence of tension between Norris and Piastri cannot be separated from the Verstappen factor. Without him, McLaren could perhaps continue their balancing act, insisting on equal treatment and letting the drivers fight it out. But with Verstappen lurking, equality becomes a luxury they may not be able to afford.

Zak Brown has been blunt in his assessment: at some point, McLaren will need to choose. The uncomfortable truth is that their choice is unlikely to be Norris. Piastri’s consistency, his points lead, and his role as the breakout star of 2025 make him the logical candidate. That logic, however, does nothing to ease the emotional sting. Norris has carried McLaren through the lean years, shouldering the burden when wins were a distant dream. To see his shot at the title sacrificed in favor of his younger teammate would be a cruel twist, and it would not pass quietly.

Questionable Strategy and Psychological Strain

The decision-making in Baku only added fuel to this narrative. The call to start Norris on the medium tire, while rivals like George Russell opted for hards, left many scratching their heads. It left Norris vulnerable in the early stages and compromised his race before he even had a chance to attack. Then came the pit stop delay, another small but costly error that turned a difficult afternoon into a frustrating one.

Mercedes engineers were openly mocking McLaren’s choices, suggesting that the team had lost their sharpness under pressure. For a squad that had looked flawless at times this season, these uncharacteristic blunders suggest something deeper: the pressure of closing out two championships is starting to erode their execution.

That erosion extends beyond strategy to mentality. When a team senses vulnerability, the atmosphere changes. Every debrief becomes heavier, every mistake carries more weight, every gesture between teammates is scrutinized. In Baku, the body language in the garage told its own story. Mechanics who once celebrated every podium with joy now wore nervous expressions. Engineers who had previously spoken of confidence began to hedge their words. Piastri’s mistakes were not seen as isolated errors but as cracks in the armor. Norris’s inability to exploit those cracks was not shrugged off as bad luck but questioned as weakness. And Verstappen’s looming presence only made those doubts louder.

Helmut Marko, never shy to twist the knife, called McLaren “breakable.” That one word summed up what the paddock had sensed in Baku: McLaren may have the fastest car, but speed is only part of the battle. The true test comes when a team is squeezed, when every decision becomes decisive and rivals like Verstappen start circling. Red Bull have been here before; they know how to apply pressure until cracks become fractures. McLaren, on the other hand, have not fought a title battle of this magnitude since 2008, and even then, they were not facing the two-pronged challenge of managing teammates while fending off Verstappen.

McLaren at a Crossroads

The psychological toll is immense. For Piastri, the fear is that his mistakes in Baku become the start of a downward spiral, his reputation for composure giving way to whispers of fragility. For Norris, the fear is even more personal: that McLaren’s dream season ends with him as the forgotten man, overshadowed by his teammate just as glory was within reach. And for the team itself, the fear is that their carefully cultivated harmony disintegrates under the weight of expectation.

The Constructors’ title may already be theirs, but history will not remember that. What will be remembered is whether they crowned a driver’s champion or whether they let the pressure break them apart. Andrea Stella and Zak Brown now find themselves at a crossroads: continue the path of equality and risk losing both championships to Verstappen, or make the brutal choice to back one driver and risk igniting open conflict between Norris and Piastri. It is a no-win scenario, one that will define not just this season but McLaren’s identity as a team. Baku exposed this dilemma in the harshest light, and every race that follows will only make the decision harder.

While Verstappen can afford to play the long game, he knows he does not need to win every race. He only needs McLaren to keep tearing themselves apart. Every mistake, every awkward radio message, every missed opportunity fuels his momentum. He thrives on chaos, and Baku gave him exactly the opening he needed. His message after the race was calm, almost understated, but the subtext was clear: he smells blood, and he will not stop until McLaren either implode or he takes the fight to the very end.

What began as a bad weekend for McLaren has become the turning point of the season. The new evidence from Baku is damning: the errors, the strategy missteps, the visible frustration between Norris and Piastri all point to a team under siege from within and without. The facade of unity has cracked, and now the question is how long it can hold before it shatters completely. With seven races to go, the championship is no longer just about performance; it is about survival, about whether McLaren can keep their drivers from destroying each other while Verstappen circles like a predator.

A title drought stretching back to 1998 could be broken this year, but only if McLaren can hold their nerve. And after Baku, that looks less certain than ever. McLaren now stand at a crossroads, torn between maintaining the illusion of harmony or making the ruthless choice that could either secure a title or split the team in two. Verstappen has already sensed weakness, circling like a predator that knows its prey is wounded, and every race that passes will only tighten the vice.

The stakes in Baku were not just errors on track; they were signals that the calm facade is gone, that the tension between Norris and Piastri is very real, and that Red Bull is ready to exploit it. What comes next will decide everything. If McLaren can hold their nerve, they may yet crown a world champion for the first time since 2008. But if the fractures exposed in Baku deepen, the dream could collapse into chaos, leaving Verstappen to swoop in and snatch glory from their grasp. Stay tuned, because the real drama of this championship is only just beginning.