Wings under scrutiny
On Thursday, February 13, McLaren unexpectedly put its 2025 car on track for an initial shakedown. The MCL39 is a natural title contender, especially considering the team’s remarkable development last season, which culminated in securing the Constructors’ Championship after a 26-year wait.
However, McLaren’s success in the team standings was not without controversy. The infamous issue of flexible wings—brought to light particularly after Oscar Piastri’s victory in Baku—remained a hot topic throughout the winter. Ultimately, the FIA decided to step in with a specific technical directive, tightening front wing regulations starting from the ninth race of the season in Spain.
A season split in two
This effectively divides the season into two phases: a more lenient approach for the first third of the championship, followed by stricter regulations for the remaining 16 races. Throughout the winter, there has been much debate over how this could impact the title fight, potentially benefiting or disadvantaging certain teams.
Speaking to *Sky Sports F1* at the official unveiling of McLaren’s new car, team principal Andrea Stella expressed no concerns over TD18. However, he did hint that some adjustments would be necessary ahead of the Barcelona round when the regulation change takes effect.
“There’s no issue,” Andrea Stella stated. “We won’t need to make adjustments for the start of the season. A small tweak will be required from the ninth race onward. I know this has become a big topic of discussion,” he continued, “but in terms of what actually keeps us busy and what gives us headaches, there are far more significant aspects—those extra tenths of a second, which I may have made sound simple. I don’t want to seem disrespectful to all the men and women at McLaren who work so hard and so skillfully to build a car even faster than what was already a very competitive machine in 2024.”
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