As the reigning Constructors’ Champion, McLaren has unexpectedly unveiled the first 2025 car, ahead of all its rivals. The MCL39 is the car with which the team led by Andrea Stella aims for a double target: after securing the teams’ title in 2024, it now wants the drivers’ title as well, aiming for a championship double, reconnecting the thread broken by Woking in 1998 with Mika Hakkinen.
After 27 years, the top English team believes it is ready to break Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s streak of four consecutive drivers’ titles. In the last championship for ground-effect single-seaters, McLaren wants to etch its name into the history books before entering the new era of agile cars.
Papaya and Black Camouflage Livery
The highly anticipated car ran at Silverstone for a filming day that was deliberately kept secret. The MCL39 appeared with a papaya camouflage livery combined with black geometric patterns. This color scheme was necessary because the 2025 official livery will only be revealed at the February 18 event in London, celebrating F1’s 75th anniversary.
McLaren released only a few images from a rainy English day, making a detailed description of the car designed by Rod Marshall and Peter Prodromou difficult. Those expecting a “revolution” based on Andrea Stella’s statements about innovative solutions may be slightly disappointed, as the MCL39 maintains the identity of the MCL38 while pushing many concepts further across nearly all areas of the car, incorporating some ideas seen last season on rival F1 cars.
There may also be a hidden innovation, as the Silverstone photographs conceal the rear and, in general, the rear suspension.
The Nose is Now More Streamlined
The front wing is the one introduced in Austin, with very vertical flaps designed to create an inboard wall to generate downforce in challenging conditions. The nose has been redesigned, particularly in the tip, which rests on the second flap, showing a reduced cross-section to minimize drag.
Front Suspension with Extreme Anti-Dive
The front suspension retains the well-established pull-rod layout. Notably, the rear arm of the upper wishbone is even more angled, enhancing the anti-dive effect to the point where it is almost parallel to the tie rod. This offers advantages not only mechanically—better pitch control under braking—but also aerodynamically by improving airflow toward the floor.
The Radiator Inlet Becomes More Triangular
The radiator inlet retains the prominent upper carbon visor, but the cooling system intake has been partially redesigned, likely relocating some heat exchangers above the Mercedes power unit. Following Ferrari and Red Bull’s trend, the upper air intake is narrower but has taken on an almost triangular shape, with airflow entry starting much lower. The goal is to increase the undercut, ensuring cleaner and higher-volume airflow to the floor. As a result, the lower sidepod section is more sculpted, while the side panel towards the rear tapers less linearly than on the MCL38, though still maintaining a recognizable identity.
Ferrari-Style “Cobra” Flap
Analyzing the floor is difficult due to the angles chosen for the released images, but the MCL39’s upper body has changed: near the Halo mount, there is a vertical flap resembling the “Cobra” element seen on Ferrari’s SF-24. The mirror support has also been revised, now featuring a small flap under the mirror acting as a flow diverter.
Ogival Airbox More in Mercedes Style
Great effort has been made to reduce the frontal cross-section behind the driver’s head, improving the rear wing’s efficiency and potentially allowing lower incidence angles due to less obstruction. The engine cover has been completely redesigned, and the airbox now features larger side “ears” beside the roll bar, aligning more with Mercedes’ philosophy but with a distinctive ogival shape.
The “Bazooka” Line is Lower
The cooling outlet line has been lowered and streamlined, although it is likely that an auxiliary radiator has been placed above the turbocharged V6. For now, hot air is expelled through rear-facing vents, but given the cold conditions at Silverstone, additional lateral gills for heat dissipation are expected.
Rear Push-Rod Suspension with a Curved Arm
The rear suspension sticks to the push-rod layout, but a curved upper arm on the wheel hub side was noticeable in the limited views provided. McLaren’s gearbox has been revised, with the carbon casing modified to widen the two Venturi tunnels feeding the rear diffuser and to accommodate new suspension mounting points. This rear-end area will be key to watch when the MCL39 is fully visible in Bahrain testing.
Rear Wing is from Abu Dhabi
Some surprises in the wing design are also expected. The rear wing features the V-profile main plane used at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the race that secured McLaren’s Constructors’ Championship title.
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