2025 McLaren F1 Team

[basti313]

Redbull and max will be fast, perhaps faster than us in qualy but what we can't do is let a Russell or leclerc etc to be in front of us. Otherwise by time we get past them in the race (waiting for superior deg to come into play) Max will already long gone into the distance.

Well...inconsistent Q is the only and biggest problem in this season.

MCL38 was very fast around here in quali and race, given that MCL39 is better in every aspect I'd be very surprised if McLaren isn't super strong here. The high deg nature of the track paired with easy overtaking plays straight into the hands of McLaren.

I also do not see how they not will humiliate the rest of the pack. This is a thermal deg track, much more than Miami. Should be a walk in the park if the drivers get their Q together...and this is one of the most easy tracks in Q as well.

[FittingMechanics]

No updates for Mclaren this weekend.

https://www.fia.com/system/files/decisi ... ssions.pdf

That's funny. Red Bull and Ferrari both change their front wing. McLaren adds one bracket to the wing.

[bauc]

No updates for Mclaren this weekend.

https://www.fia.com/system/files/decisi ... ssions.pdf

That's funny. Red Bull and Ferrari both change their front wing. McLaren adds one bracket to the wing.

Is this a flex from Mclaren to show they mean business?

Pun intended

[FittingMechanics]

Is this a flex from Mclaren to show they mean business?

Pun intended

I think it definitely shows that they don't feel threatened at the moment, they haven't rushed any kind of updates to Spain because of the TD.

I hope they do well, just so it shuts down TD talk immediately. It would be also fun to see copium dry out in other team fan bases.

[Emag]

RedBull should perform quite well here though, my favorite for the win is Max (TD or not).

[Quantum]

I think it definitely shows that they don't feel threatened at the moment, they haven't rushed any kind of updates to Spain because of the TD.

I hope they do well, just so it shuts down TD talk immediately. It would be also fun to see copium dry out in other team fan bases.

This.

Reading that McLaren are "liars" because they suggest it's not a huge impact. Akin to critics knowing the future and passing judgement with crystal clear fortune telling capabilities.
Spain is also not going to be a favourable track for McLaren(similar in some ways to Imola), so expect flexi chatter finger pointing drivel if those results are replicated.

[Mcl_G10]

I think whatever happens we need both mclaren drivers must be ahead of everyone bar max as a minimum.

Redbull and max will be fast, perhaps faster than us in qualy but what we can't do is let a Russell or leclerc etc to be in front of us. Otherwise by time we get past them in the race (waiting for superior deg to come into play) Max will already long gone into the distance.

Max p1 in qualy is not the worst thing to happen her but we must be p2 and p3 after that first corner.

Merc could be very fast here in quali

Do we have superior deg? If it's just natural deg. Max was better in Imola, and even Leclec was better in Bahrain (?) When he stretched the mediums out.

Sorry a miss phrase on my behalf. What I meant was through maintaining tyre surface temps to get the best tyre performance over a stint. We see in the hotter races the mclaren can keep them in the right window for the whole stint rather that overheating and losing performance because of it. Others are trying to make inroads into this mclaren advantage but I'm not so sure they will be able too.
I presume also barcelona will be hot like mismi ir even hotter.

[CjC]

I think it definitely shows that they don't feel threatened at the moment, they haven't rushed any kind of updates to Spain because of the TD.

I hope they do well, just so it shuts down TD talk immediately. It would be also fun to see copium dry out in other team fan bases.

This.

Reading that McLaren are "liars" because they suggest it's not a huge impact. Akin to critics knowing the future and passing judgement with crystal clear fortune telling capabilities.
Spain is also not going to be a favourable track for McLaren(similar in some ways to Imola), so expect flexi chatter finger pointing drivel if those results are replicated.

Also the fact Ferrari and Red Bull have effectively brought new front wings will skew the picture even more, which will probably be conveniently forgotten

[mwillems]

I just wouldn't try and get involved, just rebutt the silly comments when they come along.

Some teams have done more work on their wings than is strictly necessary, but it will be hard to tell if this is strictly for TD or just that they were testing the FW and brought an improvement.

Its also hard to tell who had to strengthen by what amount, but its not lost that biggest complainant of flex had to strengthen their wing.

[mwillems]

I think whatever happens we need both mclaren drivers must be ahead of everyone bar max as a minimum.

Redbull and max will be fast, perhaps faster than us in qualy but what we can't do is let a Russell or leclerc etc to be in front of us. Otherwise by time we get past them in the race (waiting for superior deg to come into play) Max will already long gone into the distance.

Max p1 in qualy is not the worst thing to happen her but we must be p2 and p3 after that first corner.

Merc could be very fast here in quali

Do we have superior deg? If it's just natural deg. Max was better in Imola, and even Leclec was better in Bahrain (?) When he stretched the mediums out.

Sorry a miss phrase on my behalf. What I meant was through maintaining tyre surface temps to get the best tyre performance over a stint. We see in the hotter races the mclaren can keep them in the right window for the whole stint rather that overheating and losing performance because of it. Others are trying to make inroads into this mclaren advantage but I'm not so sure they will be able too.
I presume also barcelona will be hot like mismi ir even hotter.

The whole brake cooling and heating has been hyped up since Australia, but this seems to really have had limited impact. Deg hasn't been amazing compared to others, or even the best at times. The teams keep tyres in the OP window at the best delta. This is where we benefit I think, not deg. On the hotter tracks with hot air temps this seems to have helped us run faster than others for similar deg.

The only other thing I've noticed is that the car is great from starts, cold, wet or otherwise. So it feels like the car is noticeably better in some situations, including the extremes of the temps, and not perhaps that much of a difference maker in the middle.

[Balalu]

Long runs seem worse than both Ferraris and Max. Or, are FP1 long runs not important as much as FP2?

[FittingMechanics]

Long runs seem worse than both Ferraris and Max. Or, are FP1 long runs not important as much as FP2?

Norris was using a medium downforce rear wing, Piastri on a high downforce rear wing. The team thinks high downforce wing is faster but they are evaluating and will decide before FP2 on which to run.

Norris was also following slower cars, not sure about Piastri.

It's just practice. No one is running at the limit.

[Macklaren]

one lap pace seems impressive though?

[Emag]

Its FP1. Neither quali or race pace is representative.

[pantherxxx]

Both Piastri and Norris had massive understeer.