McLaren not standing still: MCL39 packed with ‘bold innovations’

At first glance, McLaren appeared to settle for a conservative design for the final year of Formula 1’s ground-effect regulations, but Team Papaya’s MCL39 is packed with bold innovation, according to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.

The Woking-based outfit’s new challenger had the measure of its rivals on the opening day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, with Lando Norris clocking the fastest lap on Wednesday.

“It was a good, fun day on track, and we progressed through a lot of the tests that we wanted to do. I’m looking forward to pushing the car a bit more over the next couple of days,” commented the Briton at the end of his first day of running.

A Car Built for Progress, Not Preservation

While early signs from the MCL39 have left the team encouraged, Brown emphasized that this isn’t a car merely polished and rolled out from 2024.

“We definitely didn’t put it away after Abu Dhabi and polish it and just roll it out here,” he said. “It has a lot of innovation on it.”

This innovation, however, isn’t without its risks. Brown revealed that some of the MCL39’s advancements were daring moves, requiring careful validation.

“What I’m liking is the car is doing what we thought it would do,” he explained. “Some of the innovations were bold so we needed to make sure they were going to work and not be issues.

“So we’re kind of ticking off the ‘yes that works’, ‘yes that’s going according to plan’.

“It’s way too early to see what the grid looks like but what we’re doing is getting through our run plan, it’s going according to plan, so I’m very happy with that.”

For McLaren fans, these words signal a team methodically checking boxes while aiming for supremacy.

Balancing Present and Future Ambitions

With four teams securing multiple race wins in 2024, the 2025 season promises another tight battle. But Brown’s strategic vision extends beyond the immediate future, especially with F1’s major technical regulation overhaul looming in 2026.

He speculated on how rivals might approach the current season.

“Probably, some teams maybe [won’t] put as much effort into ’25 because they don’t think they have a chance and therefore double down on ’26. So that’ll be interesting to see what that looks like in ’26,” he said.

“Then you have ourselves and I’m sure many others [who are thinking] before we think about ’26, let’s make sure we optimise ’25 because we have a chance.

“So we are working on both. Our ’26 car has been in the wind tunnel, our ’25 car, they kind of bounce back and forth. So we’re working on both.”

This dual-track approach underscores McLaren’s ambition to dominate now while laying the groundwork for future success.

Brown’s cautious optimism shines through as he outlined the team’s flexible strategy moving forward. “

“Then I think we’ve got to see how we start the season, how much development do we think we have left and then kind of react accordingly as to how we balance our resources.”

As pre-season testing continues, McLaren’s blend of daring innovation and strategic foresight positions them as a formidable force, ready to tackle the challenges of 2025 and beyond.

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