2025 McLaren F1 Team

[SilviuAgo]

I like this idea: McLaren since day 1, In means only one thing to me: loyalty!

[WardenOfTheNorth]

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula- ... th-google/

Extension of the Google partnership. Must say Zak has done wonders in turning the team around commercially from when he took over and the cars were bare of sponsors

Still hoping for a Chrome title sponsor leading to a return of Chrome livery full time lol

Looks like the Chrome branding is going to switch to Gemini full time though so expect more multi-color gradient special liveries instead. I think they went as far as they could go this year with the chrome theme, without making the full car chrome (which the FIA will not permit)

Why won't the FIA permit that??

[Macklaren]

Still hoping for a Chrome title sponsor leading to a return of Chrome livery full time lol

Looks like the Chrome branding is going to switch to Gemini full time though so expect more multi-color gradient special liveries instead. I think they went as far as they could go this year with the chrome theme, without making the full car chrome (which the FIA will not permit)

Why won't the FIA permit that??

When McLaren did one of their special liveries last year (the senna anniversary?) it came out that the FIA had soft mandated the teams to keep their signature color in their liveries for the fans. So a McLaren special livery should always have a significant papaya element to it etc

[WardenOfTheNorth]

Looks like the Chrome branding is going to switch to Gemini full time though so expect more multi-color gradient special liveries instead. I think they went as far as they could go this year with the chrome theme, without making the full car chrome (which the FIA will not permit)

Why won't the FIA permit that??

When McLaren did one of their special liveries last year (the senna anniversary?) it came out that the FIA had soft mandated the teams to keep their signature color in their liveries for the fans. So a McLaren special livery should always have a significant papaya element to it etc

Isn't that within season though? I mean a team can change their entire aesthetic between seasons can't they?

I'm not suggesting McLaren ditch the Papaya anyway, just use chrome alongside it rather than black is all.

[Macklaren]

Why won't the FIA permit that??

When McLaren did one of their special liveries last year (the senna anniversary?) it came out that the FIA had soft mandated the teams to keep their signature color in their liveries for the fans. So a McLaren special livery should always have a significant papaya element to it etc

Isn't that within season though? I mean a team can change their entire aesthetic between seasons can't they?

I'm not suggesting McLaren ditch the Papaya anyway, just use chrome alongside it rather than black is all.

Yes correct. That is within a season. But I don't think McLaren will ditch papaya completely. "Chrome rules" doesn't have the same ring to it

[Macklaren]

Our worst FP1 of the year? Lando couldn't even finish the lap in 3 of his 4 soft push attempts. Hope it's just setup experimentation

[CjC]

Lando is confident of fighting for pole:

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/arti ... NfcLpBwUZC

Even if he doesn’t achieve it, I’m glad his happier with the car at the very least

[FittingMechanics]

Our worst FP1 of the year? Lando couldn't even finish the lap in 3 of his 4 soft push attempts. Hope it's just setup experimentation

FP2 looked better from what I could see from highlights. Lando also quite bullish on their pace. He is usually not one to overestimate their pace so this is a good sign.

Las Vegas is a weekend where he just need to do well enough, Verstappen needs to gain 16+ points per weekend to win the title so any result where he finishes close to Verstappen would be a great one for the WDC fight. Finishing ahead would be a dream result.

I don't want to go to the last race with Verstappen still in the battle.

[Quantum]

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/weak ... exploited/

Nikolas Tombazis said: “What we've not been keen to get involved in is a situation where, when there's an engine change, we have to argue with the team or the PU manufacturer whether a bit of telemetry indicates potentially a reliability issue or not.

“We don't feel we have the expertise to argue with them whether it's really a reliability or strategic change.

“In some cases it's obviously in one or the other camp. But when you're in that crossover area, it would be difficult.

"So this has been a weakness in the current regulations — the combination of financial plus technical and sporting — and it's been an area where we've adopted this approach where we accept these changes without getting into discussion about the impact on the cost cap.”

Path clear for Macca to get fresh engines.

[FittingMechanics]

Path is clear, yes, but I think they are missing the point.

Mekies clearly said they did not make a change due to reliability reasons. So their argument that they don't want to get involved in investigations about reliability is moot. Mekies said himself why they did it. It would be different if Red Bull said it was due to reliability reasons but they probably did not realize that at the time.

Tombazis/FIA are probably letting this slide because if it counts toward the cost cap it is likely that Red Bull would breach the cap and that would be a much bigger stain on the championship. For those who like conspiracy theories, FIA may find a way to compensate McLaren for this, maybe some decisions in their favor for last 3 races.

[venkyhere]

Something odd that I see in the data (not sure whether it's real or a data anomaly) is that McLaren seem to 'deploy more battery' towards the end of the mega straight (T12 to T14) , than the other three teams. This might be an engine map (or is it a driver tool where pressing 'overtake' button when DRS is already open at full power, releases some more 'peak' ?) improvement w.r.t last year, for this track. But it also means they have reduced battery deployment elsewhere on the track. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if McLaren is the car that can make overtakes in a DRS train, while others struggle.

[Badger]

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/weak ... exploited/

Nikolas Tombazis said: “What we've not been keen to get involved in is a situation where, when there's an engine change, we have to argue with the team or the PU manufacturer whether a bit of telemetry indicates potentially a reliability issue or not.

“We don't feel we have the expertise to argue with them whether it's really a reliability or strategic change.

“In some cases it's obviously in one or the other camp. But when you're in that crossover area, it would be difficult.

"So this has been a weakness in the current regulations — the combination of financial plus technical and sporting — and it's been an area where we've adopted this approach where we accept these changes without getting into discussion about the impact on the cost cap.”

Path clear for Macca to get fresh engines.

The grid penalty would be more penalising than whatever small pace advantage that would yield across the remaining races. It would just be a waste of cash.

[Quantum]

The grid penalty would be more penalising than whatever small pace advantage that would yield across the remaining races. It would just be a waste of cash.

Around Vegas I bet there will be a safety car. Those long straights will be peachy for a fresh engine running at full tilt.
Red Bull have an engine in their car now that has 350kms on it and can run it harder than any engine in McLarens pool.

I'd wait for the end of qualifying before deciding, but If Verstappen is out the top 3, no brainer....just go right ahead and do it. I mean it's a total mockery but that's what the FIA deem ok...so be it.

[AR3-GP]

The grid penalty would be more penalising than whatever small pace advantage that would yield across the remaining races. It would just be a waste of cash.

Around Vegas I bet there will be a safety car. Those long straights will be peachy for a fresh engine running at full tilt.
Red Bull have an engine in their car now that has 350kms on it and can run it harder than any engine in McLarens pool.

I'd wait for the end of qualifying before deciding, but If Verstappen is out the top 3, no brainer....just go right ahead and do it. I mean it's a total mockery but that's what the FIA deem ok...so be it.

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/mcla ... ne-switch/

McLaren boss Stella felt that fresh engines nowadays do not deliver as big an advantage as they did in the early years of the turbo hybrid rules, because manufacturers had got better in keeping performance at a high level.

"I don't know how this works for Honda, but in general these engines, they don't exhibit much degradation with mileage," he said.

"So that's why in general you wouldn't change an engine and accept a penalty, or a loss of positions, because normally the performance you get back doesn't really compensate for the positional losses.

"But, like I say, I'm not sure how the power degradation works for Honda."

[Quantum]

"I don't know how this works for Honda, but in general these engines, they don't exhibit much degradation with mileage," he said.

"So that's why in general you wouldn't change an engine and accept a penalty, or a loss of positions, because normally the performance you get back doesn't really compensate for the positional losses.

"But, like I say, I'm not sure how the power degradation works for Honda.

So Stella doesnt know.


There is degradation over time. Which affects performance. To "not exhibit MUCH degradation" is not equivalent to "NO degradation". I feel like this quote has been wilfully misrepresented by certain quarters, especially given what Mekies himself said in Brazil.

It’s fair to say that in the last part of the season, we were on schedule to finish the year without needing the change.
We just felt that we would take the opportunity mainly because we wanted to change the car again.
It’s difficult to give you a number, but the gaps are small enough for everything to be important.”

So they changed it for an advantageous reason.