How McLaren ensured they didn’t lose their ‘guiding path’ like Red Bull with 2025 F1 car

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McLaren have been the team to beat in 2025 after three years of Red Bull dominance, but it has been quite a swing in performance for the Milton Keynes squad.

Max Verstappen is no longer able to compete for race wins regularly, while McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have amassed enough points to now finish ahead in the Drivers’ Championship.

Red Bull’s track problems have been vindicated by lack of competitiveness from the second seat, after Liam Lawson only lasted two rounds, while Yuki Tsunoda has struggled to compete at the same level as Verstappen.

The RB21 has been a tricky car to drive, with Red Bull engineers often having to unpick problems on a race weekend that put them on the back foot.

Discussing the differences between Red Bull’s 2025 car and the MCL39, F1 technical expert Rosario Giuliana explained how McLaren had a clear philosophy to avoid the same issues as their rivals in a column for The Race.

McLaren had ‘clear’ philosophy with 2025 F1 car

McLaren’s MCL39 has gone from strength to strength in 2025, with the team achieving four one-twos in the last four races with Piastri and Norris.

Last year, McLaren withheld upgrades on their 2024 challenger to ensure they didn’t upset their form with Norris during his title battle with Verstappen.

The team has carried that philosophy into 2025 according to Giuliana, which has enabled them to now score over double the points of nearest rivals Ferrari.

“The team’s philosophy was clear: introduce only safe and functional developments, avoiding risky packages,” wrote Giuliana.

“McLaren, therefore, didn’t follow the path of large packages race after race – like their strategy in 2023 and 2024 – but pursued surgical development, able to continuously strengthen a car that was already born dominant.”

Giuliana explains that this is where the Woking-based squad has managed to produce a car that is not only faster, but more consistent than Red Bull: “While McLaren only had to refine an excellent project, Red Bull instead showed the difficulties of a team that seems to have lost its ‘guiding path’.”

Red Bull dealt with significant staff losses behind the scenes

Red Bull’s problems have spiralled since they broke the ‘golden rules’ of the current generation of cars last year, while also dealing with significant staff losses.

This includes design guru Adrian Newey, whose influence is clearly being felt now that they are no longer as competitive on race weekends and are struggling to improve their current car concept.

Christian Horner paid for it with his job in July when the Red Bull owners ran out of patience, electing to sack him after 20 years.

McLaren have aligned everything behind the scenes and managed to make it work on track, with the team now on course to take their first Drivers’ Championship since 2008.