Lando Norris Era Beginnings

Lore & Background

The MCL39 was the first McLaren since the Adrian Newey-designed MP4/13 of 1998 to win both titles in the same season. The car won fourteen Grands Prix in 2025, each driver winning seven apiece. It scored thirteen pole positions, set twelve fastest laps, and finished on the podium a record total of thirty-four times. The car, in the hands of Norris, also set the Formula One record for fastest race lap by average speed at the Italian Grand Prix.

Reader's Guide

The MCL39 follows the MCL38, McLaren's first championship-winning Formula One car since 1998. Having won the Constructors' Championship in 2024, McLaren was allowed only 70% of the baseline allocation of wind tunnel testing time. Team principal Andrea Stella said he believed McLaren could overcome this disadvantage by improving efficiency elsewhere in the aerodynamic design process. The car was a significant technical development over the MCL38, exhibiting substantial layout changes including shifted radiators, increased anti-dive measures, new sidepod inlet shapes, revised engine cover bodywork, and a new wider airbox inlet shape.

Did You Know?

• The car successfully defended the World Constructors' Championship, securing it at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix.
• Norris secured the World Drivers' Championship at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
• The MCL39 used a special livery inspired by the McLaren M7A for the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix.