McLaren F1 boss warns team in BIZARRE Red Bull and Ferrari 'poison' verdict

F1 team chiefs Mattia Binotto, Andrea Stella, and Christian Horner — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 boss warns team in BIZARRE Red Bull and Ferrari 'poison' verdict

McLaren won the Formula 1 constructors' championship in 2024

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Sunday 9 February 2025 22:57

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McLaren boss Andrea Stella has warned of a 'poison' that could creep into his team amid their ongoing battle with Ferrari and Red Bull.

The Woking-based outfit claimed their first constructors' championship title since 1998 in 2024, following some brilliant performances from Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who both claimed their maiden career race victories.

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Norris won four races in 2024, and put up a championship challenge to the supreme Max Verstappen, who eventually claimed his fourth consecutive title with two races to spare.

Heading into 2025, both the drivers' championship and the constructors' championship look wide open, with a plethora of genuine contenders for both prizes.

McLaren won the 2024 constructors' championship

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri displayed great team work in 2024

Celebrate McLaren’s 2024 success by clicking here to shop the stylish Lando Norris tee.

Who will win the 2025 F1 championship?

McLaren will be the team trying to defend their crown in 2024, having only finished 11 points ahead of a rejuvenated Ferrari, and 77 points ahead of Red Bull, who had won the previous two titles.

In 2025, Ferrari will have the added boost of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has joined their ranks following 12 seasons with Mercedes, while Red Bull will also have a new lineup, with Liam Lawson replacing Sergio Perez.

McLaren team principal Stella - who has overseen a remarkable turnaround at the outfit - has warned his team against the 'poison cookies' offered to champions, as they prepare to go up against Red Bull and Ferrari once again.

"Refusing the poison cookies is one of the fundamental elements to verify and validate that the culture we have created is not just a matter of words, but that it exists in real life," he told media after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

"We will always have poison cookies offered in our camp. We will always have poison cookies with the aim of creating divisions, of breaking the cohesion that we have in the team.

"But we say every day that we are not going to accept these poisoned biscuits. It would be very naive and very arrogant to think that, because we have won, we are perfect, we can relax and think that everything is owed to us, simply because we are world champions.

"There is nothing new: I think the best philosophy is to start as if we had lost and that is what we are going to do to prepare for next season."