Dan Fallows has weighed in on which team he believes will step up and win an F1 championship once McLaren’s current run comes to an end.
McLaren ended a long wait for silverware last season, clinching their first constructors’ title since 1998. Now they’re on track to make it two in a row.
Piastri, who is in front of Norris by 31 points, looks set to maintain that lead heading into the closing stages of the season. Despite this, Piastri and Norris both are still firmly in the hunt for the drivers’ title.
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Team orders have been a recurring theme throughout McLaren’s title campaign. One notable moment came at Monza when Piastri was told to let Norris through, fueling debate among fans about using such tactics between two drivers competing for the same championship.
With Red Bull and Ferrari falling short so far, Aston Martin has established itself as one of McLaren’s closest challengers over recent seasons. Naturally, many expect them to be next in line when McLaren’s dominance finally comes to an end.
Dan Fallows makes Red Bull prediction despite Christian Horner pressure
Aston Martin have also put together a solid campaign so far this year sitting third in the constructors’ standings and with Fernando Alonso inside the top five of the drivers’ championship. But even with Aston Martin being seen as likely future champions by many people, Fallows believes another team is better placed when compared with his side.
Even though some see Aston Martin as future champions, Fallows thinks another team is actually ahead of them right now. He picked out Red Bull, saying:
“You look at where we are at at the moment and you can kind of say we’re probably doing everything that we should do if we’re going to get there but I think Red Bull probably just edges us out for that claim.”
Dan Fallows tips Mercedes to end McLaren’s reign
With McLaren expected to wrap up both titles again in 2025, talk is already turning to who might be next in line once the Woking team’s run comes to an end. The upcoming 2026 regulations are expected to shake up the order, creating opportunities for others.
Appearing on the latest episode of James Allen on F1, Dan Fallows was asked which team he believes will be the first to take over after McLaren’s current run.
“I’m gonna go for Mercedes,” he said. “That’s because, as an organisation, they’ve been hurting for this regulation set. They’ve probably realised within the last year or two that their best chance now is to finish off this regulation set, but really focus on 2026.
“They are an absolutely awesome force to be reckoned with. They’ve slightly kept themselves out of the conversation over the last couple of years, and it’s been more about the drivers and, you know, how Kimi’s getting on and so on.
“But I think they see this as a big opportunity, and they will have put a huge amount of effort into it, and when they really get going, they are very very difficult to stop.”
A big reason behind those predictions stems from what happened at the start of F1’s turbo-hybrid era back in 2014 when Mercedes completely dominated straight out of the gate. There is already chatter that they could hold another power unit advantage next season too.
The team is projected by many to lead again next season when new rules come into effect – even if Mercedes themselves have played down those expectations publicly.
Red Bull’s 2026 engine concerns could shake up the grid
While Red Bull have been one of F1’s strongest teams in recent years, there are growing concerns about how they’ll adapt to the 2026 changes. The team is set to run their first in-house engine, developed by Red Bull Powertrains in partnership with Ford.
Ted Kravitz has suggested that Red Bull could face a similar learning curve as Cadillac, who will be making their debut entry into the sport next season.
Although Red Bull have been around for more than 20 years, this will be their first attempt at building a complete power unit from scratch.
The topic has added fuel to speculation about Max Verstappen’s future. There were reports suggesting that reliability issues with the new engine had pushed him to consider other options.
Specifically, Verstappen was said to be concerned about ongoing problems with energy management on high-speed circuits like Monza and Baku. Engineers reportedly hadn’t found a solution before testing began.
The real picture won’t become clear until pre-season testing gets underway. Until then, all eyes will be on whether Red Bull can deliver an engine capable of keeping them at the front of the pack.
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