Last Updated on December 31 2024, 11:41 am

McLaren F1 finally returned to the top of the Formula One pecking order by winning their first constructors’ title since 1998. The second oldest of the F1 teams has been in the wilderness for almost two decades as the Woking based team struggled to deal with the break up of its ‘works’ relationship with Mercedes.

The German auto brand decided to enter the sport with its own team buying Brawn GP for the 2010 season, but this meant McLaren were to lose their exclusive relationship with the power unit manufacturer in an era when raw power once again became king.

Yet the birth of the McLaren revival was first in evidence during the closing races during Verstappen’s uber dominant 2023 season, as the MCL37 closed the gap on the world champions and at times deployed the quickest car of the weekend.

 

 

 

McLaren slow out of the blocks

For some reason McLaren were slow out of the blocks again this year, with Max Verstappen winning seven of the first ten Grand Prix, while in the meantime McLaren delivered just Lando Norris maiden victory in Miami.

It was in fact round thirteen before the next win for McLaren in Hungary where the first cracks in the team’s battle hardened character appeared to emerge. Oscar Piastri had qualified behind his team mate on pole, but in the opening skirmishes managed to take the lead from Norris.

This he held until the round of pitstops when Piastri was called in first as per the team’s protocol. Norris was to run long and delivered the undercut emerging from his change rubber ahead of his young Australian team mate.

For lap after lap McLaren pestered Norris over team radio to relinquish his lead but the British driver countered their demands even stating he was best placed to challenge Verstappen for the drivers’ championship. Yet the romance of Piastri’s impending maiden Grand Prix victory appeared to cloud the minds in the strategy team, as ‘Papaya rules’ were repeatedly cited.

Hulkenberg identifies Hamilton weakness

 

 

 

McLaren not race hardened

Lando Norris capitulated with a handful of laps remaining, but the lost seven points in his chase down of the world champion would have been telling but for the drive of the century by Verstappen at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Yet there were other distractions which sought to deny McLaren their first team title in 26 years as a row began to brew over underhand tactics. The team’s flexi-wings were questioned by Red Bull along with a host of other suggestions of cheating.

Max Verstappen was candid following the season finale in Abu Dhabi in his view that underhand tactics had been in play, though he refused to name names. Speaking to De Telegraaf, he claimed: “There were things that happened in the background, which meant that we had no chance at all in certain races. I know that for sure, but no one will ever admit that.”

Red Bull also questioned the legality of the McLaren ‘min DRS’ rear wing before attracting attention themselves to a unique manner of adjusting the front bib ride height. The late in the year came the rumours that certain teams were using water inside the tyres to cool the temperatures and extend the life of the rubber.

FIA reveal plans for flexi-wing testing

 

 

 

McLaren media inexperience shows

Each of the FIA investigations failed to find any wrongdoing although McLaren mysteriously redesigned its rear wing. The disputes fuelled much media speculation which serves to amplify the pressure experienced within the team.

“What is difficult, even if you get familiar with racing at the top, is to handle the noise and the distractions that come either internally or externally,” team boss Andreas Stella tells Motorsport.com.

“You want to keep staying focused. And, in order to do so, you do have to have a structured approach, a conscious approach towards managing the noise, managing now that you are the headline.”

Stella continues by addressing the impact baseless allegations have on the team which gain traction in the media. “Sometimes, like we have seen with the case of the water in the tyres, sometimes having to deal with misinformation, things that you know kind of don’t make any sense,” he said.

Ski plank TD cost Ferrari the championship

 

 

 

Even misinformation requires attention

“And yet they become news, and they become something that you cannot ignore, so you have to deal with.”

McLaren were clearly unprepared for the limelight competing at the front brings with it and both in terms of external scrutiny along with internal pressure to continually improve in all aspects of their racing operation.

“These are new dimensions in a way for a team that was not competing [for wins before] and they definitely proved to be requiring a lot of attention,” confesses Stella. “Plus I would say this constant acknowledgement that it’s not enough.”

The 2024 season ebbed and flowed for the teams in pursuit of Red Bull. At the beginning of Verstappen’s ten race win drought, it was Mercedes who looked strongest winning three of the four Grand Prix following Max’s last win in Spain. This of course denied McLaren and Norris of valuable points which was to prove costly in the final tally following a 32 point swing to Verstappen in Austria when Lando had a DNF.

Marko reveals news on Red Bull 2025 F1 car

 

 

 

Looking for a solid start to ’25

Following Mercedes time in the sun at the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone and Spa then it was McLaren’s turn to top the GP classifications in four of the six rounds before the Autumn break. With their all new flexi wing it was then Ferrari to come to the fore, winning back to back Grand Prix in Austin Texas and Mexico City.

The temptation for McLaren after their late summer surge may have been to back off on the car development and preparation for next season. Yet Stella reveals this was never the plan: “It would be good to say like ‘oh this is enough; it’s going to be an easy win’! But it’s not, so you always have to reposition, and this is somehow hard to accept.”

For McLaren to retain their title and potentially add the 2025 drivers’ title to their trophy cabinet, the team will need to hit the ground running as they failed to do this year. The pressure will only increase should they lead from early in the year and Stella’s observations over resilience and adaptability will be put to even greater test.

Quitting Red Bull: Max makes threats clear

 

 

 

How F1 teams will face the starting gun for the 2026 regs

The FIA will fire the starting gun at midnight which will start the race amongst the Formula One teams to get to grips with their revolutionary new car designs under the big regulation changes coming in 2026. It may seem bizarre with a full 2025 campaign ahead that the teams will start dedicating precious resources to a car which will not hit the track for more than a year and does this suggests 2025 is less important twosome of the F1 competitors?

As Lewis Hamilton identified as early as the Austrian Grand Prix during last year’s Red Bull uber dominant campaign, “They don’t have to make any changes to this year’s car any more as they’re so far ahead. He’s cruising at 100 points ahead of us.

“I think the FIA should probably put a time when everyone is allowed to start developing on the next year’s car. So August 1, that’s when everybody can start so then no one can get an advantage on the next year, cause that sucks.”… READ MORE