McLaren now possess one ‘luxury’ their Formula 1 rivals simply can’t afford to copy this season

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McLaren have emerged as the new team to beat in F1, having dethroned Red Bull from the top spot in 2025.

Signs that McLaren had produced a title-winning car emerged last year when they beat the Milton Keynes squad and Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.

Lando Norris came close to beating Max Verstappen, but the Briton made too many mistakes and finished second-best.

Despite being outclassed by teammate Oscar Piastri at the start of the season, Norris has now closed the gap to within eight points at the halfway point of the season.

McLaren have been told by Martin Brundle to expect ‘fireworks’ now that Norris has the momentum, while Piastri might be driven by a sense of injustice having been given a penalty he felt was unfair at Silverstone.

The team is still hard at work bringing upgrades to their car, but they now have one ‘luxury’ that other teams do not have, according to a report from The Race.

McLaren have the ‘luxury’ of bringing upgrades that give drivers setup options

One of the main reasons that Norris has been able to close the gap to Piastri is due to the front suspension upgrade that was introduced to his car in Canada.

This is part of a wider upgrade strategy, according to the report, which means they now have the luxury of being able to add performance that is focused on car setup.

McLaren engineering technical director, Neil Houldey said that it is likely the team will now look at more circuit-specific updates to optimise their cars for each driver.

“We’ve added parts to the car now and really there’s set-up options that people will take forward depending on the track, and depending on the driver,” added Houldey.

“We’re really out of that point where big upgrades are making a difference and actually we’re bringing options. Different circuits are going to offer different amounts of performance, and we’ll be trading those at each event as we move forward.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine

McLaren forced to introduce new floor at Silverstone which made Lando Norris’ car slower

One of the things that McLaren were told to prepare for at Silverstone by the FIA was the introduction of steel skid blocks in response to safety measures.

Reports show that McLaren were forced to introduce the floor change, which made Norris’ car slower, due to concerns over the grass fires.

F1 teams were wary that such a change could come into effect, with some teams indicating that it could impact performance.

McLaren were one of the teams impacted at Silverstone, having made changes to their floor edge at the British GP, which included four trailing edges rather than the usual five.