McLaren has revealed that the team will be adopting some “brave risks” with the approach to its 2025 car design as it strives to win both Formula 1 titles next season.
Lando Norris clinching the race win in last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ensured McLaren ended a drought in the Constructors’ Championship going back to 1998.
However, Norris wasn’t in contention to take the Drivers’ crown at the Yas Marina Circuit as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen sealed the deal with two entire rounds to spare.
But having ended the season with renewed optimism from its title success, McLaren heads into 2025 with more ambitious plans as it chases a championship double.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has explained how its return to the top will not cause the side to rest on its laurels when it comes to assembling the successor to its MCL38.
Instead, Brown has teased that the Woking-based squad is going aggressive with development as it aims to remain the benchmark team once the new season begins.
“We’re going into next year at full strength,” Brown told Autosport.
“I think we’re in a different mindset now in terms of the confidence of the team and the amount of bravery that the team is prepared to take in the development in next year’s car.
“The team is not: ‘let’s just tweak a little here and there. The car is pretty good.’ We’ve got some stuff on next year’s car that is like ‘brave risk’.
“I think you only get to the front if you try and beat everyone, as opposed to the mindset when we started this year which was like ‘let’s just be as good as them.’
“The mind shift is now: ‘let’s beat everyone’.”
McLaren expecting close fight in 2025
Brown is under no illusion that McLaren can expect a tough challenge to retain the title, though, as Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull all won races in the last five rounds.
“We’ve got to out-develop them, out-drive them, and out-strategise them – as opposed to this mindset of, ‘just don’t make any mistakes.’ That’s just not competitive enough.
“Commercially we are now super strong, and we’ve got two great drivers. That’s a huge strength.
“But damn the competition is good. Mercedes is right there, and the Ferraris and Red Bulls too, right?
“Just as you kind of feel like they’re starting to slide a bit, they smash it. So I think you have got four teams next year, and any of them could be winning both championships.”
McLaren now better prepared amid hardship
Norris coming up short in his attempts to overhaul the huge advantage Verstappen had built up earlier on was attributed to mistakes that he and McLaren committed.
However, Brown believes the lessons McLaren has acquired over the latest campaign have stood the team in good stead to mount a challenge on both fronts in 2025.
“I think we’ll be much more prepared next year, because I think we came into this year thinking not in a million years are we going to be where we are,” he expressed.
“We were almost even mentally not prepared. We weren’t unprepared, but we just didn’t go in with this mindset that we have right now.
“I think we’ll go into next year knowing how damn hard it’s going to be, but wanting to win the Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championships.
“This year it was, ‘let’s be top three and see if we can get Lando his first win.’ We’ve moved on from that.
“Now it’s we’ve got two drivers that can compete for the World Championship, and let’s go for both.”
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