McLaren’s path to championship dominance in Formula 1 is defined by a winning concept, innovative solutions, and highly effective car development that made the MCL39 nearly unstoppable this season.
Four consecutive 1-2 finishes in the last four races clearly illustrate the technical superiority of the papaya team, whose only real competition now comes from within—the fierce rivalry between teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Several strategic choices laid the foundation for McLaren’s current dominance, beginning with a fundamentally successful concept, which was then aggressively but cleanly developed. The Woking-based team now enjoys the rewards of investing heavily in a crucial area of the car, widely regarded as the most important aspect for any Formula 1 team.
The McLaren concept
The foundation of McLaren’s success has been the initial concept, which was refined steadily from mid-2023 onwards. The engineers and management at Woking carefully analyzed the most valuable performance areas from a championship perspective and designed the car to perform optimally in those specific zones. Over time, McLaren’s strengths and weaknesses evolved, with marked improvements in slow-speed cornering—a long-standing weakness in previous designs.
The team’s return to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix this year highlighted how the 2025 McLaren operates differently from its predecessors. Andrea Stella, McLaren’s racing director, emphasized this point in Monaco, explaining, “In developing the car, our goal was to improve performance in slow corners and to reduce our dependence on running the car very low and stiff. That setup might work well on certain tracks but not as effectively on others. We wanted a car that was competitive across the full range of circuits rather than just excelling on a few, even if that means not always reaching peak performance everywhere.”
Back in 2023, McLaren excelled in short and high-speed corners, performing best when running low and stiff. However, two years later, the picture has changed dramatically. “On faster corners, like Pouhon or Copse, we’re not the fastest car,” noted Andrea Stella. Instead, the team developed a car with a higher ride height, softer suspension, and more agility in slow-speed corners. Data confirms that the MCL39 generates its greatest aerodynamic downforce in medium-speed corners, the most frequent type on the current F1 calendar. This isn’t a coincidence but a deliberate development strategy that optimized aerodynamic performance where it would yield the highest championship dividends.
The MCL39
The same core concept underpinned the 2024 McLaren, which showed its strongest performances on tracks rich in medium-speed corners such as Budapest, Zandvoort, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi. Despite securing the constructors’ championship that year, the team was well aware that to stay at the top, the 2025 car would need to be bolder and more innovative. Andrea Stella described their approach: “We took a very aggressive approach to innovation. The MCL39 is a truly innovative car. From an engineering perspective, we were nervous that some solutions might be unfeasible. Yet, looking at simulation times and data, we felt that the car wasn’t quite fast enough.”
The most significant innovations focused on the car’s basic architecture, which was redesigned to open new avenues for aerodynamic development. The credit for this goes to McLaren’s mechanical department, led for the first time by Rob Marshall, a prestigious recruit who previously implemented Adrian Newey’s concepts at Red Bull. For instance, the cooling system now features cutting-edge solutions that maintain excellent aerodynamic efficiency even in hot conditions. This is evident in McLaren’s consistent use of tighter bodywork compared to competitors. Another noteworthy advancement is the front suspension, where the steering has been moved ahead of the upper suspension arm, balancing weight, vehicle dynamics, and aerodynamics more effectively.
Impact on driving
Lando Norris’s feedback highlights the profound changes brought by the 2025 car. While unquestionably faster than the 2024 model, the MCL39 behaves differently and does not always align perfectly with Norris’s driving preferences. “I had some difficult moments figuring out how to drive the car. It’s still a McLaren, but it handles very differently from past years. I had to adapt, and in some aspects, it didn’t suit me,” Norris admitted.
Early in the season, Norris struggled with the limited tactile feedback from the steering wheel, particularly on tracks that demand clear front-end feel for corner entry. “The tracks where I struggle the most are those that challenge the front axle and require precise steering feedback,” he explained. Nevertheless, exceptions proved his adaptability; for example, before Monaco, Norris was apprehensive due to the importance of front-end performance under braking but ended up delivering one of his best performances.
The situation improved during the summer thanks to both Norris’s adaptation and technical updates from the team. Starting in Canada, McLaren fitted Norris’s car with a slightly revised front suspension designed to enhance steering feel, especially as the front tires approach lock-up under braking. However, Oscar Piastri’s immediate and strong rapport with the MCL39 reflects his different driving style and faster learning curve compared to Norris.
The most important investment
While the initial concept and aggressive approach to the MCL39 were vital, McLaren’s recent dominance is also the result of an extensive development program. This development went largely unnoticed due to its incremental nature, avoiding the introduction of a single large upgrade package. Between June and July, McLaren introduced upgrades affecting the front wing, suspension aerodynamics, floor, and rear wing, along with a minor mechanical adjustment to the rear suspension aimed at improving stability during corner entry.
Unlike other teams, which have experienced setbacks in ground effect development over the last four years—often causing negative handling impacts as downforce increased—McLaren’s updates have consistently proven effective. The opening of McLaren’s own wind tunnel in October 2023 undoubtedly improved correlation between simulations and on-track performance, but the real technical edge lies elsewhere. Andrea Stella reflected, “The fact that we have been able to consistently deliver effective upgrades results from many factors. There’s no magic formula in Formula 1. Success comes from mastering the fundamentals—not just generating ideas or designing geometries for floors or wings.”
“It’s about understanding the methodologies behind development, realizing that effectiveness isn’t just about innovation but also about confidence that what you see in CFD or the wind tunnel will translate to performance on the track. This is part of building a strong team’s technical expertise and is one of the toughest challenges a Formula 1 team faces. From this perspective, we have invested heavily.”
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