McLaren has shaken down its 2025 challenger, the MCL39 at Silverstone on Thursday, taking the F1 world by surprise.
The unexpected test gave McLaren the accolade of being the first team in 2025 to launch and test its new car.
The reigning Constructors’ champions enter the new season potential favourites to win both titles after its renaissance in 2024.
The new MCL39 ran in an orange and black camouflage livery, hiding its aerodynamic innovations from prying rivals.
The unusual move marks a change from the previous cautious launches by the Woking marque, tye team on the back foot.
Team celebrating milestone
In a statement, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown praised the team’s work, with both titles the target for 2025.
“Today is a big milestone in our journey in the fight for the 2025 title,” said Brown. “It’s great to get our Championship challenger, the MCL39, on track for the first time and to launch the culmination of the team’s hard work.
“We must be realistic that every team will have made progress over the winter. Last year highlighted just how much the grid has closed up, which is a brilliant thing for the sport. We believe we have made further steps forward since the Championship-winning MCL38 but we won’t know where we sit in the standings until we get into Qualifying in Australia.
“We’re a team that never stops racing and we’ll be giving it our all to bring both Championships back to Woking.”
Team Principal Andrea Stella was similarly upbeat about McLaren’s prospects for the season ahead.
“We are excited to see the MCL39 hit the track for the first time at Silverstone Circuit today. Whilst we finished last year as Champions, 2024 highlighted how highly competitive the grid is, which is something that will carry through to this year’s Championship. We therefore must keep focused to compete at the front in this tight field. It’s going to be an exciting but incredibly challenging year ahead.
“The team have worked extremely hard to prepare as best as possible for the start of the season. We learned a lot from our battles last year, so we take this and use it to push our goal for the year.
“My thanks go to the entire team for their work to get the car ready for today, as well as our colleagues at Mercedes HPP for their continued collaboration. We now focus on the work ahead to ensure we maximise our time in testing before the first competitive session in Australia.”
McLaren will launch their 2025 livery next week.
Feature Image Credit: McLaren Racing Media Centre
