McLaren approaches the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix with the clear intention of redeeming itself after the disappointing 2024 edition. That race was one of the most complicated of the last two seasons for the Woking-based team, which finished only sixth and seventh, more than forty seconds behind George Russell, the previous year’s winner. The data gathered twelve months ago will now be essential for starting from a solid base and avoiding the same mistakes.
McLaren, a 2024 Las Vegas GP to forget
Despite the consistent progress shown throughout the season, the reigning Constructors’ World Champion still has no guarantee that the latest development steps on the car will be enough to close the gap seen in last year’s event. The combination of cold temperatures and the layout of the Strip Street Circuit is notoriously difficult and does not naturally suit the characteristics of the car.
In 2024 McLaren suffered a qualifying deficit of more than seven tenths and confirmed its struggles in generating downforce in fast sections and bringing the tyres into the optimal window. Ferrari and Red Bull were significantly more competitive under the Las Vegas night conditions, making McLaren’s weaknesses even more evident. This pushed the team into a deep review of the most critical areas of the car.
Team principal Andrea Stella recalled the issues that emerged a year ago, emphasising how tyre behaviour ruined the entire weekend. Stella said that last year’s Las Vegas race had been one of the most difficult events, explaining that the team struggled with tyre performance in qualifying because the car lacked pace, and then suffered severe graining in the race.
The former Ferrari engineer added that McLaren also encountered aerodynamic issues when running the rear wing in a lower-downforce configuration, as well as balance limitations while trying to counteract graining and understeer. McLaren has since worked to improve aerodynamic efficiency, thermal management and low-downforce configurations, but the real impact of these updates will only be confirmed on track.
Stella and the team know how to correct their weaknesses
The expected low temperatures in the United States may prevent the MCL39 from fully exploiting its cooling system, one of the car’s strengths during hotter races. In addition, the lack of long corners will reduce one of McLaren’s usual advantages. For these reasons, expectations in Woking remain moderate.
Andrea Stella explained that an in-depth analysis of the 2024 event directly influenced the technical work carried out in recent months, although he acknowledged that the outcome is uncertain. Stella stated that last year’s Las Vegas review offered crucial information to understand how to improve. As seen throughout the current season, studying previous data has greatly helped identify the optimal setup.
As we all know, fine-tuning the setup is essential under the current regulations. The Italian engineer also highlighted tyre behaviour, pointing out that in terms of tyre management, aerodynamic efficiency and car balance, the team now knows where to intervene. Whether that will be enough remains unclear, and Andrea Stella stressed that only the track will provide the answer, even though the team has taken action because last year’s performance was far from satisfactory.
A misstep in Las Vegas could be decisive
Among the rivals, Mercedes remains an unknown factor but looks capable of a strong weekend, while Ferrari expects to arrive with a more competitive package than in 2024. This raises the challenge for McLaren even further, especially at this late stage of the technical cycle, where every detail may create significant performance differences.
Championship leader Lando Norris is maintaining a cautious approach, preferring to focus on the actual potential of the car. Norris said he believed Las Vegas had been McLaren’s worst race last year, and noted that Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari were all extremely strong, leaving McLaren last among those four teams. The British driver explained that the team would wait and see, adding that many improvements have been made this season, so he is not overly negative about the upcoming event.
The American round will therefore be a crucial test to assess McLaren’s technical maturity and its ability to convert its progress into concrete results on one of the most unusual circuits of the year. Conditions are unlikely to favour the MCL39, but for a team already crowned world champion, the Las Vegas weekend is an important proving ground—a challenge within the challenge.
And, of course, the Drivers’ World Championship cannot be forgotten. Lando Norris holds a 24-point advantage over Oscar Piastri and a 49-point gap over Max Verstappen, but a major setback in Las Vegas could reopen the title fight, potentially in favour of the four-time world champion from the Netherlands. With only two races remaining afterwards, nothing would be certain.
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