F1 fans unhappy with McLaren after they quoted Sebastian Vettel in social media post

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McLaren may now be emerging as the dominant team in Formula 1. After Lando Norris’ victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, the Woking outfit have won three of the last four races.

Mercedes embarked on a similar run before the summer break, but McLaren have put their run together through pure pace. And they’ve arguably had the fastest car on the grid since the spring.

From the start of the Miami GP onwards, Zak Brown’s squad have scored 392 points. In the same period, Red Bull (238), Ferrari (252) and Mercedes (265) are all a level below.

Heading into the four-week break between the Singapore and the United States GPs, McLaren lead the constructors’ championship by 41 points. They overtook Red Bull in Azerbaijan and, on current form, could seal the title with multiple races to spare.

Remarkably, this would be their first constructors’ title of the 21st century. And they’re already firm favourites for 2025.

There will be minimal changes to the regulations over the winter as teams prepare for the major 2026 overhaul. Based on Norris’ 20-second winning margin in Singapore, they could streak clear next season.

McLaren under fire for adapting Sebastian Vettel quote on social media

During the Singapore weekend, Brown visited the Ferrari facility to hand counterpart Fred Vasseur a McLaren shirt. The merchandise was embroidered with the Frenchman’s name.

The team shared a video of the interaction on their X account, writing: “Everyone’s a McLaren fan, even if they say they’re not a McLaren fan.”

This appears to be a reference to a famous quote from four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel. The German was talking about Ferrari, having raced for the Scuderia between 2015 and 2020.

Many F1 fans seemed to think McLaren’s post was disrespectful. @cya9nide warned the team that they were ‘losing the fan battle’.

@Swervin32_ complained that they don’t do ‘anything original’, a criticism echoed by @1v1Speedy74700. Another user, @racingwithro, quipped that they were back to their ‘old photocopying ways’.

@tlop44 said ‘no one ever’ agreed with the sentiment expressed. And finally, @tchemz12 asked who was ‘in charge’ of McLaren’s pages after what they saw as an ill-judged post.

Lando Norris hints McLaren have had to change more parts after rear wing scandal

McLaren are one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula 1. Only Ferrari (15) have won more than their 12 drivers’ titles.

But between 2013 and 2020, they failed to win a single race, scoring only five podiums. They were among the slowest teams on the grid during their disastrous reunion with Honda.

They’ve finally made it back to the front, and with that comes added scrutiny. Lando Norris says McLaren have changed multiple parts after legality questions from rival teams.

On the other hand, Martin Brundle has raved about McLaren’s ‘extraordinary’ progress. Within the space of a season, they’ve turned Red Bull’s margin of superiority completely on its head.