Lando Norris delivers initial verdict about McLaren's MCL39 after the car's shakedown test in Silverstone

Lando Norris has claimed that McLaren's MCL39 has a lot of changes, compared to last season, as the team executed the shakedown test in Silverstone. The 2025 F1 season will be the first time in the 21st century that the Woking-based team will defend the constructors championship.

The team has been in a title drought since Lewis Hamilton won in 2008. It went through issues when the iconic 'McLaren-Honda' partnership failed spectacularly. In 2015, the partnership began its journey, but owing to a poor power unit, it could not achieve much.

Once Zak Brown took over, the team went through a lot of personnel and driver changes. The power unit also changed from Honda to Renault and then to Mercedes. After all of this, the team was finally able to put the pieces together and became champions in 2024. The team's lead driver, Lando Norris, however, fell short.

The driver finished the season second in the championship after unexpectedly finding himself in a position where he was battling for the title against Max Verstappen. Statistically, as well as performance-wise, this was Lando Norris' best season in F1, where he accrued multiple wins and pole positions.

For 2025, the Brit was behind the car on the shakedown test in Silverstone as the team rolled out the 2025 challenger for the first time. When questioned about his first impressions of the car, Norris was quite positive in his feedback as he told Sky Sports that the team had done a lot of work in all areas. He said:

"They've changed more than you might think when you look at the car, which is a cool thing. I mean, you try and improve in every area, right? You try and make it lighter, stronger, faster, more powerful, whatever it is. I think every single piece on the car has been worked on and improved."

He added:

"Sometimes it all adds up to tiny things, but sometimes you talk about small margins at the same time. It felt good. I mean, it's nice to be back in the car. It's exciting. First year for all of us as a team that we're coming in as champions and with some targets on our back. It feels good, but the guys are doing an amazing job. So, yeah, good to be back."

Lando Norris on battling Max Verstappen

Lando Norris was caught on the back foot in his battles with Max Verstappen last season. This time around, the driver admitted that if there would be a battle with the Dutch driver, he would be prepared to get his elbows out and make sure that his rival knew he wouldn't willingly give him any positions.

Norris said, as per the aforementioned source:

"I need to get my elbows out and I need to show him that I'm not going to willingly give him any positions, those kind of things. But I also have to be a smart driver. You have to be a smart driver to go up against Max. We saw it last year."

Lando Norris is the odds-on favorite to win the 2025 F1 title, according to multiple bookmakers. A lot of it would depend on how well the driver manages the season and how good Red Bull is at the start of the season.