Last Updated on August 11 2025, 12:43 pm

McLaren are having one of those once in a generation Formula One seasons, with eleven wins from fourteen races they currently lead Ferrari in second place by a whopping 299 points. They could wrap up the constructors’ title for a second year in a row in just three race weekends time as the team’s leave Europe and head for Azerbaijan.

McLaren have been a sleeping giant for more than a decade, with lows once never envisioned by the second most successful team in the history of the sport. Their renewed partnership with Honda in 2015 led to a further downward spiral as the Japanese engine manufacturer came late to the races in the V6 Turbo era which began a year earlier and their early efforts at delivering F1 power was catastrophic to say the least.

At Honda’s first home race on their return to Formula One, Fernando was easily passed by the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson on lap six. The double world champion sighed over team radio: “It feels like GP2. Embarrassing. Very embarrassing. I’ll do my best…”

 

 

 

Marshall: A key McLaren appointment

Having finally divorced, McLaren and Honda went their spurt ways, with the Japanese brand teaming up with Red Bull and their sister team, going on to claim four driver titles and two for the team. McLaren’s resurgence took much longer but there were signs the team was on the way up towards the end of the 2023 season dominated by Red Bull.

A string of five second place finishes along with two on the bottom step of the podium over the final weekends, meant hopes were high in Woking of a successful campaign the following year. However, the team now under the technical direction of ex-Red Bull employee Rob Marshall, failed to hit the ground running at the start of 2024.

Marshall having served his gardening leave joined the team at the start of the season and it was the first upgrade designed since his arrival which really turned things around for the papaya liveried team. The upgrade package improved the performance of the MCL38 in the slow speed corners, a long standing weakness of previous McLaren F1 cars. 112 points behind Red Bull after round seven in Italy, McLaren then steadily set about catching the world champions finally edging ahead at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. With Max Verstappen experiencing a ten race win drought in the European season, Lando Norris was too looking to close the 116 points gap which existed between the pair after Monaco.

Whilst his pursuit was ultimately in vain as the Red Bull driver finally returned to wining ways in Brazil and again two races later in Qatar, Norris looked a favourite to claim the title this year should McLaren retain its dominance over the field.

Ferrari ‘dishonesty’

 

 

 

Verstappen observes McLaren strength

However, the resurgence of the once sleeping F1 giant has not come without its critics. The team were accused of breaching the regulations over their rear wing construction in particular following the race weekend in Baku. Christian Horner in particular questioned the rear wings level of flex along with with footage which appear to show it flexing downwards on the straights, acting as a mini-DRS.

Whilst no admission of guilt was ever made by the team, after an FIA investigation the construction of the wing was changed. The flexi wing issue reared its head again this season, with the FIA now slashing the amount of flex allowed in half. Then McLaren were accused by Red Bull of using water to cool their tyres whilst racing, something specifically outlawed in the FIA regulations.

Yet once again McLaren were cleared of any wrong doing, as the consensus in the paddock grew, suggesting McLaren’s success was all down to its tyre management. Last time out in Hungary, Max Verstappen spoke about McLaren’s ability to look after its tyres, in particular on the mediums. “Well, it’s definitely better on its tyres. It can keep the tyres alive a lot nicer,” said the world champion.

“You can clearly see that in the wet on Intermediates, where if you have good tyre management, it even comes out more on that tyre. Because the tyre is more fragile, it overheats even faster and they definitely have that very well under control.”

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McLaren dominant in medium speed corners

However, Verstappen also noticed where the McLaren was at its most imperious. “At the same time, I think their medium speed performance is incredible compared to, I would say, everyone else on the grid. The rotation that they have on the front axle without losing the rear is something that is also quite incredible to see. That’s something that we have to try and achieve,” concluded the Red Bull ace.

When presented with Verstappen’s observations, McLaren team boss Andrea Stella agreed with his assessment. “It can be answered just by looking at the GPS data,” said Stella. “When you look at the speed comparison with some other teams, the data says that McLaren can generate the highest mid-corner speed in medium-speed corners. So, I think the assessment of Max is correct.”

The McLaren boss’s next observation reveals the key to McLaren’s success, which is based upon statistical analysis. “We still have our weak points. If you go on a very high-speed corner like Copse [at Silverstone], for instance, or Pouhon [at Spa-Francorchamps], we are not the fastest car.

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Stella reveals McLaren simple objective

“Likewise, probably in very low speed, we are not the fastest car. But the majority of corners in a championship happen to be medium-speed corners, and certainly in that range, our car is, data in hand, the best,” he concluded. In the world of F1 where technical solutions are incredibly complex and difficult to engineer, McLaren’s objective its design brief was incredibly simple, to build a car which is quick around the majority of turns on the F1 calendar.

Of course each and every F1 team wishes to build a car which is good at every circuit, with the Barcelona circuit often being cited as the litmus test. McLaren are vulnerable to Red Bull and Verstappen at the high speed venues, like Japan, Belgium, Monza and Qatar which the slippery RB21 has proven already this season.

Yet the pragmatism shown by Stella and his associates have delivered an uber dominant F1 car this season, the best since the early campaigns by Mercedes in the turbo hybrid era, but not quite at the level of the now historic RB19.

 

 

 

 

Aston Martin’s secret tech delivers remarkable results in Hungary

Whilst the fallout from the final Formula One race weekend before the summer break surrounded Ferrari, Aston Martin’s remarkable turnaround has been largely ignored. Lance Stroll was top ten in practice one while reserve driver Felipe Drugovitch replaced Alonso who was complaining of muscle spasms in his back.

In the next two sessions, Alonso and Stroll were neck and neck as they posted times good enough for P4 and P5 and then P6 and P7 before both qualified in a stunning P5 and P6 for the Grand Prix. Alonso fought of the resurgent Kick Sauber of Gabriel Bortoleto to finish the race in fifth place, while Stroll fought off a rear guard action against world champion Max Verstappen to claim only his fourth points finish of the season in seventh.

This incredible result is put into context when considering across the first fourteen race weekends, Fernando’s average finishing position is 9.83 whilst his team mate’s is 12.62. Of course there are those who suggest this was a track specifically result and any progress by the Silverstone team will only be evidenced in the results after the summer break…. READ MORE