With 10 races left, can McLaren beat Red Bull to an F1 title?

After a near-four-week break, F1 returns to action this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix, the first of 10 remaining races that will decide the outcome of the 2025 world championship.

Early fears of a predictable Red Bull whitewash have been brushed aside thanks to a converging and competitive field, underlined by seven different drivers picking up wins from the opening 14 rounds of the campaign.

Here are some of the biggest talking points heading into the second half of the season…

Constructors’ championship hotting up

Despite not winning since the Spanish Grand Prix five races ago, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen still holds a healthy 78-point championship lead over his closest challenger, McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Red Bull’s form may have stuttered of late but crucially, Verstappen’s remarkable consistency has enabled him to maximise his results and continue to extend his championship advantage at times when rivals have had a quicker car. He remains in an incredibly strong position to win a fourth successive world title.

For Norris to stand any chance of beating Verstappen to a maiden drivers’ crown, he would need to outscore the Dutchman at an average of eight points a race. Given the recent trend, and the fact Norris only has one victory this season, such a scenario feels unlikely.

However, the constructors’ championship battle remains wide open. Red Bull’s drop in competitiveness, coupled with Sergio Perez’s disappointing performances, has seen McLaren cut the gap from what was once 115 points after Miami down to just 42.

McLaren have had one of the fastest and consistent-performing cars of late but a combination of operational flaws and driver errors have seen opportunities to win more races go begging. For McLaren to have a chance at claiming their first constructors’ title since 1998, they will need to be at the top of their game for the rest of the campaign.

Are Mercedes a frontrunner again?

Mercedes head into the second half of the season as the in-form team. A development push has helped the German manufacturer unlock more performance from the W15 and turn around an underwhelming start to the year.

While George Russell’s victory in Austria only came about thanks to a collision between Verstappen and Norris, Mercedes appeared to have the outright fastest package at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, where the team claimed a 1-2 finish on the road prior to Russell’s disqualification.

For the first time in F1’s current rules set, Mercedes are making genuine progress and clawing themselves closer to the front of the grid. But Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is not convinced his team are yet in a position to compete for wins at every race.

“We know we have ground to make up,” Wolff said ahead of F1’s return at Zandvoort this weekend. “We are not yet able to compete for victories at every grand prix.”

“We have made good steps in improving the W15’s weaknesses though and will continue to work hard to take more. If we can do so, then we will close the gap to those ahead in both championships.”

Can Ferrari return to winning ways?

Ferrari emerged from the winter as Red Bull’s nearest challenger but have dramatically fallen away and been overtaken by the likes of McLaren and Mercedes in the pursuit of the reigning world champions.

A 1-2 finish in Australia, and Charles Leclerc’s fairytale home win in Monaco, feels a long time ago. Ferrari have not looked like challenging for wins since, and even podiums have been hard to come by, with Carlos Sainz managing third in Austria and Leclerc completing the rostrum in Belgium having inherited pole due to Verstappen’s grid drop.

After their promising start, Ferrari’s development has gone awry, with increased bouncing becoming an unwanted side-effect from updates to their 2024 challenger. Both Leclerc and Sainz have struggled to tame Ferrari’s unpredictable SF-24, which the Italian team looked to cure with revisions to the underbody of the floor in Hungary and Belgium.

Ferrari have a further upgrade push planned for Zandvoort which they will hope can spark their season back into life after a six-race winless drought.

Lewis Hamilton will no doubt be keeping a keen eye on Ferrari’s progress ahead of his blockbuster winter switch to Maranello…

Red Bull’s driver line-up conundrum

Perez remains under pressure heading into the second half of the season, despite Red Bull’s announcement after Belgium that he will keep his seat until the end of the year.

If the Mexican does not improve his performances, he could still find himself under threat of losing his drive, particularly with Red Bull being pushed so hard in their defence of their constructors’ championship.

Red Bull have made it clear they want Perez to stay. But if he cannot rediscover his form, and Red Bull come under increasing pressure from McLaren, the team will surely have no choice but to reconsider their options.

Such a scenario would give Red Bull a headache. Yuki Tsunoda is already tied down to sister team RB for 2025, while Daniel Ricciardo has not exactly laid down a strong case to earn a recall so far this year.

Red Bull also have reserve driver Liam Lawson waiting in the wings and reportedly need to make a call on his future by September, or risk losing him altogether.

The next run of races will be crucial for Perez to cement his position at Red Bull.

How will Alpine’s latest leader fare?

The Dutch Grand Prix will mark Oliver Oakes’ debut as the new team principal of Alpine.

The Briton, who founded the Hitech team that races in junior motorsport categories, will become the second youngest F1 boss ever at 36 years old.

Oakes is Alpine’s third leader following on from Otmar Szafnauer and Frenchman Bruno Famin in what has been a turbulent 12-month period overshadowed by several senior personnel departures.

He will be thrown in at the deep end for his first job in F1, given Alpine’s struggles this season. But Oakes will hope to oversee continued progress Alpine have made of late, having started the 2024 season with the slowest car in the field.