McLaren MCL39

The MCL39 follows the MCL38, McLaren's first championship-winning Formula One car since 1998. Having won the Constructors' Championship in 2024, McLaren was allocated only 70% of the baseline allocation of wind tunnel testing time. Team principal Andrea Stella believed McLaren could overcome this disadvantage by improving efficiency elsewhere in the aerodynamic design process. McLaren’s success in developing a front wing that could flex significantly under aerodynamic load during the 2024 season was considered instrumental in overcoming Red Bull's dominance in the ground effect era. New restrictions to combat this use of wing flexibility were introduced, effective from the ninth race of the season (the Spanish Grand Prix). Stella said the team had planned for a "small adjustment" to implement with the new restrictions, but denied they would negatively impact performance.

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said the team would take a "brave risk" approach to designing the MCL39. Engineering director Neil Houldey stated McLaren would not compromise any of its 2025 development despite the introduction of an entirely new set of technical regulations and engine formula in 2026. The MCL39 was the first McLaren car that lead designer Rob Marshall oversaw from its beginning, representing a significant technical development over the MCL38 with substantial layout changes. The car shifted its radiators further up and backward compared to its predecessor. It retained the front pullrod and rear pushrod suspension layout, but with increased anti-dive measures to better control ride height. Other visible changes included new sidepod inlet shapes, revised engine cover bodywork, and a new, wider airbox inlet shape. The team planned to deliver several early-season updates, consistent with McLaren's recent development plan.

The MCL39 won fourteen Grands Prix in 2025, with each driver winning seven apiece. The car scored thirteen pole positions, set twelve fastest laps, and finished on the podium a total of thirty-four times. Norris set the Formula One record for fastest race lap by average speed at the Italian Grand Prix, averaging 257.781 km/h (160.178 mph).

Norris qualified on pole and won the Australian Grand Prix, while Piastri recovered from a late-race incident to finish ninth. Piastri won the Chinese Grand Prix, with Norris finishing second. At the Japanese Grand Prix, both drivers finished in their qualifying positions of second and third. Piastri won the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Norris third, and then won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while Norris recovered to fourth.

Piastri and Norris achieved a 1-2 finish at the Miami Grand Prix, with Norris winning the sprint race. Piastri won at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, finishing third in the main race. Both drivers qualified on pole and finished 1-2 at the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix.

Norris won the Austrian Grand Prix, with Piastri second. At the British Grand Prix, Norris took victory after Piastri received a ten-second time penalty. Piastri won the Belgian Grand Prix sprint and Grand Prix, while Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix. Norris won the Italian Grand Prix.

McLaren were unable to secure the WCC at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix due to errors from both drivers. However, the team clinched the WCC at the Singapore Grand Prix. Norris secured the WDC at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The MCL39 used a one-off papaya orange and black geometric dazzle camouflage pattern for its pre-season filming day. The car's season livery was substantially identical to that of the MCL38. McLaren issued a statement explaining that the team had never changed its livery the season after a championship win and never substantially changed a livery during a period of sustained success. A special livery inspired by the McLaren M7A – the car that first featured McLaren's papaya livery – was used for the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix. For the British Grand Prix, McLaren once again used a chrome livery inspired by those used from 2006–2014, following on from positive fan reception of those used in 2023 and 2024, but with more chrome than in those years. For the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix, McLaren raced a special livery based on Google Gemini's colour palette. Finally, for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix the car was run in a livery designed by a select group of fans that featured artwork commemorating significant moments in the team's history.

This article is based solely on the provided corpus: a Wikipedia article about the McLaren MCL39. No external sources, such as primary archives, autobiographies, period programmes, or specialist publications, were consulted.