In the last season, McLaren and Red Bull pursued opposite development strategies: pause to build a solid future or push upgrades to the limit. According to Neil Houldley, McLaren chose the smarter path.
Two philosophies collide: McLaren vs. Red Bull
Last year, two opposing philosophies came face to face. On one side, the winning team, relying on the excellent work that produced a highly competitive MCL39, decided to quickly halt development on the current car in order to focus on designing the machine for the new season.
On the other side, Red Bull followed a more aggressive approach, consistent with the long-established philosophy of the Milton Keynes squad. While McLaren stopped improving a car that was already inherently strong, the Austrians pushed forward with upgrades.
This strategy allowed Red Bull’s driver, Max Verstappen, to remain in contention for the Drivers’ Championship until the final race in Abu Dhabi. The question now is whether McLaren will benefit from its own choice. Even though McLaren has dominated the last two F1 seasons, the risk of a dramatic turnaround remains high. However, Andrea Stella can now rely on a technical department capable of challenging Red Bull’s supremacy.
Neil Houldley explains McLaren’s decision
By the time McLaren had gained a significant advantage over the competition, small tweaks requiring precious time and money could have jeopardized the development of the 2026 car, according to the team’s technical director for engineering.
“If we had continued developing in 2025, we would have definitely entered 2026 more slowly than we will now. At that point, we were chasing thousandths of a second. Thirty milliseconds would have been a good improvement, but when you reach that level, the right choice is to halt development,” Neil Houldley explained.
“Other teams, like Red Bull, continued their development, which certainly led to big gains at the end of the year. But I still believe we made the right decision and I hope that when we hit the track, it will be proven,” Neil Houldley concluded.
The strategic divergence between McLaren and Red Bull highlights the immense pressure teams face when balancing immediate championship glory with long-term technical survival. By prioritizing the 2026 regulations over late-2025 gains, McLaren is betting that the head start in their wind tunnel and CFD simulations will outweigh the momentum Red Bull gained by fighting until Abu Dhabi. Neil Houldley’s confidence suggests that the “marginal gains” left on the table in 2025 were a small price to pay for the chance to lead Formula 1’s newest era.
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