2025 McLaren F1 Team

[Farnborough]

Tyre degradation was already strong last year and the year before (The first big step), but they’ve clearly taken another step forward. They've also improved tyre performance in cold and wet conditions — particularly in terms of tyre heating, which was an area that went backwards last year.

It’s easy to forget, but we did have some dominant races last season where we finished well ahead of the field, so this isn’t entirely new. We’ve shown flashes of that kind of pace at a few races this year, and in Miami we completely outperformed anything we’d done so far. That said, based on how the year’s gone overall, I don’t expect that level to become the norm — but with the Miami upgrade, I’d like to think we’ll see it more often than we did last season.

I still believe we’ll have one of, if not the, fastest car on a Sunday - usually faster - upgrades not withstanding. Saturdays, however, will likely remain a challenge — at least in the short term.

I see it like this too, a very competent and competitive design with great application by team and drivers toward deployment of this advantage. It really is the core of the challenge to enact clever thinking at all levels that makes it interesting.

For others, this is a quote from CH Post Miami 2025
"Asked on Sunday if the team had ever considered protesting McLaren, as it did with George Russell's car after the Miami race, Horner said: "We're not reporting or suggesting there's anything illegal on the car, we felt George Russell has done something which is in breach of the regs..."

He added: "McLaren is the standout car. They have the kind of advantage we saw a couple of years ago.

"They're obviously doing a very good job in managing temperatures and particularly, if you look at the end of the medium stint, that was probably where they were the most competitive. That's what we need to focus on.

"I think we had brake issues that have compounded the problem in the race, but that's what we need to understand moving forward."

No implications of cheating there, but appreciation of the task RB face in trying to match that quality of performance.

[mwillems]

This is a continuation of the tire water saga, and RB have openly said they believe Mclaren are cheating. When the analysis from Pirelli didn't align with their hopes, the team continued to try to find evidence of wrong doing and used thermal cameras. They then took this as further evidence of their suspicions of wrong doing to get the FIA to review. It apparently is possible to do it without water and only subsequent to that has Horner congratulated Mclaren. Perhaps this is now acceptance?

It's nice that Horner now appears willing to accept that his team need to do better, but the first reaction was that we can only be cheating.

Everyone wants to get their opponents checked and reigned in if they can, but this whole process was tenuous, and based on the idea that we can't do it, so it's not possible, therefore you are breaking the rules. That is why Toto publicly rebuked RB for that attitude and stated that they knew Mclaren were doing a good job, and that the issue was that Merc needed to do better. Not that someone is doing something Merc can't, therefore they are cheating.

Better we draw a line underneath it, let's hope Horner does too!

[AR3-GP]

Better we draw a line underneath it, let's hope Horner does too!

Appearing on the TechStuff podcast, Brown was asked about the turmoil in which Red Bull found itself last year, and whether he had “smelled blood” in the knowledge of how a functional team could be thrown off by the storm.

“Our sport, perhaps more than others, has a highly competitive and political aspect,” he said.

“The goal is to make ourselves as fast as possible, but there’s also a strategy of destabilising the competition.

“We try to create tension or disrupt other teams, which isn’t unique to F1 but is particularly pronounced here.

If you can generate some instability in rival teams – and it doesn’t always work in our favor – it can slow them down while we focus on speeding up.”

I should put this in my signature. Divide, disrupt, conquer. -Zak Brown

[mwillems]

But we know this. All the posts previously have explained why we are talking about this now. Address those instead of regurgitating, if possible.

[AR3-GP]

But we know this. All the posts previously have explained why we are talking about this now. Address those instead of regurgitating, if possible.

You are wanting to know why a rival team is making life difficult for Mclaren. There's your answer. You are hoping it will
stop. The answer is probably not. Why would it?

[mwillems]

But we know this. All the posts previously have explained why we are talking about this now. Address those instead of regurgitating, if possible.

You are wanting to know why a rival team is making life difficult for Mclaren. There's your answer. You are hoping it will
stop. The answer is probably not. Why would it?

No, I haven't said that. Previous posts explained my position.

[AR3-GP]

But we know this. All the posts previously have explained why we are talking about this now. Address those instead of regurgitating, if possible.

You are wanting to know why a rival team is making life difficult for Mclaren. There's your answer. You are hoping it will
stop. The answer is probably not. Why would it?

No, I haven't said that. Previous posts explained my position.

I understand your position, but you don't have any direct stake in the success of any team. Zak Brown explained quite eloquently the lengths that someone with something to gain would go to get an advantage. We are seeing the consequences of that. Nothing that Red Bull or other rivals have done to tease out the origin of Mclaren's advantage is against the rules.

The inquisition offered the rest of the paddock and the FIA some inspiration. We started with no clue why Mclaren was quick and had good tire degradation. The first theories homed in on ride heights and the aero package. Then we moved on to flexi-wings. Mclaren outed themselves by denying that the flexi-wings and the TD would change anything. The next theories attempted to home in on the tires. The tire water theory was examined and dismissed. Process of elimination. Next was the brake ducts. Intense scrutiny until the more interesting theories started to reveal themselves. It got to the point that they were even able to tease some clues out of Stella when he referred to Mclaren's cooling systems.

The Austrian inquisition has proven to be very illuminating for us on this forum. You can imagine how much more capable the invaders are of making good on this intelligence.

[mwillems]

I don't think you do, I think you tend to so.etimes struggle to see beyond what you want to take, a selective take, that makes some conversations circular as they choose to ignore what already been stated, so I don't want to go back.over old ground. It's drowning this thread. I've been a part of it and I want to not highlight things already explained.

I get your position, you know how I feel. Job done.

[AR3-GP]

“The most interesting bit is buried away, so no one will ever see it,” Rob says with a smile.

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula- ... nnovation/

[CjC]

I honestly hope Red Bull spend a large amount of resource ‘copying/ playing catch up’ or what ever you want to call it.
Mclaren will be spending just as much of their resource to further enhance their brake ducts or just innovate somewhere else to keep the step ahead.
It’s a shame Mclaren have hit their purple patch in the last season on this rule set but you never know hopefully they can continue their form over 2 rule cycles

[CjC]

“The most interesting bit is buried away, so no one will ever see it,” Rob says with a smile.

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula- ... nnovation/

Yea, they both also scoffed at the suggestion that there is a performance ceiling in this rule set as well.
All is good at Mclaren at the moment.

[f1isgood]

I honestly hope Red Bull spend a large amount of resource ‘copying/ playing catch up’ or what ever you want to call it.
Mclaren will be spending just as much of their resource to further enhance their brake ducts or just innovate somewhere else to keep the step ahead.
It’s a shame Mclaren have hit their purple patch in the last season on this rule set but you never know hopefully they can continue their form over 2 rule cycles

There's no shame in hitting the purple patch towards the end. It only gives you momentum going into the next regulation cycle. It's better to have improvement than to fall off (my view at least).

[mwillems]

I honestly hope Red Bull spend a large amount of resource ‘copying/ playing catch up’ or what ever you want to call it.
Mclaren will be spending just as much of their resource to further enhance their brake ducts or just innovate somewhere else to keep the step ahead.
It’s a shame Mclaren have hit their purple patch in the last season on this rule set but you never know hopefully they can continue their form over 2 rule cycles

Can the brakes be carried over?

[CjC]

I honestly hope Red Bull spend a large amount of resource ‘copying/ playing catch up’ or what ever you want to call it.
Mclaren will be spending just as much of their resource to further enhance their brake ducts or just innovate somewhere else to keep the step ahead.
It’s a shame Mclaren have hit their purple patch in the last season on this rule set but you never know hopefully they can continue their form over 2 rule cycles

Can the brakes be carried over?

After re-reading that article from pre-season that AR3-GP just re-posted according to the man of the moment Mr. R Marshall there isn’t much that can be carried over

“We’re not carrying over much towards the 2026 car, but it enabled us to do some work that we think will be beneficial in the future,” Rob continues.

That’s not a conclusive ‘no’ but as I don’t know the full aero details for 2026 I have no idea.

[mwillems]

I honestly hope Red Bull spend a large amount of resource ‘copying/ playing catch up’ or what ever you want to call it.
Mclaren will be spending just as much of their resource to further enhance their brake ducts or just innovate somewhere else to keep the step ahead.
It’s a shame Mclaren have hit their purple patch in the last season on this rule set but you never know hopefully they can continue their form over 2 rule cycles

Can the brakes be carried over?

After re-reading that article from pre-season that AR3-GP just re-posted according to the man of the moment Mr. R Marshall there isn’t much that can be carried over

“We’re not carrying over much towards the 2026 car, but it enabled us to do some work that we think will be beneficial in the future,” Rob continues.

That’s not a conclusive ‘no’ but as I don’t know the full aero details for 2026 I have no idea.

I vaguely recollect the brakes can be carried over, but I don't know if I'm misremembering.