The 2024 Constructors’ title fight went right down to the wire between McLaren and Ferrari. Only when the chequered flag was waved at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, did the Woking-based team pick up the championship for the first time since 1998. Going into 2025, however, McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella hopes to retain the championship but only in a less entertaining way than they did this time around.
Speaking about their challenger next season, the former Ferrari man is confident that the team will field a more innovative car. And with that, he wishes that McLaren will have the legs on their competition not only for the first half of the season but till its conclusion.
“Already halfway through the season, when there were important choices to make on next year’s car, we understood that improving with small increments would not be enough. Consequently, in 2025 we will see an innovative McLaren,” he said as per Autoracer.it.
“We hope that this can add a margin of performance, making the races less tense, but perhaps a little more boring,” added the Italian engineer.
Following that Andrea Stella comments on 2025 target:
“And obviously we are working hard with Oscar and we’re using even some of the learning with Lando to transfer onto Oscar, because we want to be in condition in 2025 to compete for the WDC with two drivers, Lando and Oscar” https://t.co/tiawc8Oesu pic.twitter.com/tN1BYnuGQT
— McLaren News | (@McLarenF1_News) November 25, 2024
Stella, who has been lauded by McLaren CEO Zak Brown as the brains behind their championship success, feels that he might be more optimistic than possible. But having seen the incremental performance boosts with each of the team’s upgrades, his wishes might not go unheard when 2025 rolls around.
McLaren in 2025 could end Max Verstappen’s title run
The biggest challengers to McLaren’s title bid next year are Red Bull and Ferrari. The Milton Keynes-based outfit have admittedly hit a developmental ceiling with their ground-effect car philosophy but Ferrari are still eking out performance.
This year, since the summer break, the Scuderia have been the strongest package on the grid. McLaren, on the other hand, boast of having a solid car and unhindered driver lineup with them. With Lewis Hamilton beginning his Ferrari chapter next year, he needs to hit the ground running for Ferrari’s Constructors’ title chances.
Whichever way this battle goes between McLaren and Ferrari, Verstappen’s grip on the drivers’ world championship seems to loosen by the minute. 2025 could be the first time since 2021 that the Dutchman fails to win the most coveted title in all of motor racing.
