McLaren has returned to the top of the world, winning the Constructors’ Championship once again, twenty-six years after its last triumph. This success came primarily because the Woking team was able to position the right people in the right places during its internal reorganization, unlocking the potential that allowed them to design the most competitive car on the grid.
The MCL38 proved to be a versatile and effective car across a wide range of circuits, and although it did not reach the peaks of the Red Bull RB19, this is precisely the aspect that brought the two very different yet highly competitive cars together.
Having reached the top, the goal now is to continue improving, such as being fast and the benchmark team right from the start of the season, something that has been missing in the last two years due to delays in winter development.
Why the 2024 base will be key for 2025
This is the crucial point: continuing to improve, because in 2025 the margins for growth will narrow even further, as we are approaching the end of this technical cycle before starting a new chapter.
One area where McLaren has made significant progress is aerodynamic efficiency, not just in the car body, but also in the many rear wings, which have been paired with fine-tuned work on various beam wing configurations. McLaren was aware of the need to close the gap to Red Bull on this front, as in 2023 the DRS effect and overall efficiency were among the RB19’s strengths throughout the season.
In 2023, McLaren was looking for areas to improve, focusing on medium and high downforce packages, leaving low downforce ones aside, where a clear leap forward was seen in 2024. This competitiveness is a result of McLaren completely renewing its rear wing family, an element that will also prove useful in 2025.
“It was clear that our rear wings were not optimal for 2023, so that was an area of focus for us to become the class leader in this regard,” said Technical Director Neil Houldey, emphasizing how, according to their data, the gap has now been closed.
“We started from a position where we hadn’t developed our wings sufficiently, and I’d say now we are very, very close [to Red Bull], and this is an area where we won’t stop developing. So, as with all cars, there is still a lot we can do and a high rate of development that we know we can still unlock on the car.”
“There’s no area where we can currently say we are satisfied or finished developing. There is still a lot to be done, and now we need to figure out how to bring these performances from idea to CFD, from the wind tunnel to the track,” added Houldey, emphasizing how it’s about turning ideas into updates that work on the track, especially considering how many teams, except for McLaren, struggled last year to extract potential from new updates.
The work done in 2024 could also represent an important weapon for 2025. While top teams will focus on building an entirely new car for next year, many aspects will not stray far from the basic concepts that allowed them to win during the last championship.
While teams like Ferrari and Red Bull have focused on a few “all-purpose” wings to adapt to a wide range of tracks, McLaren’s efforts this year have provided greater flexibility, simultaneously improving the infamous DRS effect. It’s a matter of areas to invest the budget but also regions where more performance can be extracted.
Confidence in 2025 without sacrificing 2026
The eight wings brought to the track this year allowed for greater versatility, so much so that even in Abu Dhabi they showed up with two options that balanced top speed on straights or downforce in corners, providing more freedom of choice. This doesn’t mean there aren’t areas for improvement on this front, especially regarding low downforce configurations, but much of the base work has already been done to yield benefits in 2025.
This is why McLaren is confident that they still have many “ammunition” left in their arsenal and the capability not only to defend the title in 2025 but also to design the 2026 car in parallel without sacrificing anything.
With F1’s budget cap and further aerodynamic restrictions based on a team’s position in the Constructors’ Championship, teams will need to carefully assess how much to allocate to developing the car for the season starting in March and for 2026. This is a delicate issue, as the battle for the championship could involve more teams and the challenge might extend until the final races.
“I think there is an opportunity to win a championship in 2025 and 2026, and of course, we want to do both. You won’t win in 2025 without development. There’s Red Bull’s competition, Mercedes will have a fast car. Ferrari is fast. There’s no reason why these teams won’t find plenty of performance next season, and we need to be there and do the same if we want to win the championship, which is the goal.”
It’s not just about the car, but also the team
Of course, there are also significant areas for improvement concerning the team, which in 2024 found itself fighting for a target it hadn’t been used to for many years. Red Bull made the strength and solidity of the team, both in decisions and everything surrounding it, one of the key aspects to win the Drivers’ Championship, even without the strongest car.
Similarly, Ferrari made the strength of the team and drivers central to their challenge for the Constructors’ Championship until the last race. McLaren knows there is room for improvement here too, as in 2024, there were opportunities where the situation could have been better managed to maximize potential.
Just making a leap forward by capitalizing on those missed opportunities in 2024 would allow them to gain points and look forward to the rest of the championship with more confidence. “Right now, the target is focused on winning in 2025. And it’s really not just about the car, but the entire team. We know the car can go faster and that we can develop it.”
“We know that as a team, every sector can find a way to be more effective, more efficient, improving as a group. So 2025 for us is just another year, an opportunity to show what McLaren is capable of.”
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