Major FIA Rule Change Forces McLaren F1 to Modify Its Car for 2025 Season

The McLaren F1 team has confirmed that the FIA has requested modifications to its 2025 MCL39 F1 car. The team has acknowledged the changes and agreed to comply with the governing body’s orders. This follows a similar situation last season when McLaren was asked to alter its rear wing design after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where rear camera footage revealed excessive flexing under pressure.

Last year, the FIA introduced measures to tackle flexi wings since they could influence performance. It installed cameras on F1 cars across the grid to closely monitor how the wings behaved at high speeds. Despite the sport entering the last year of the current ground effect era, the FIA has decided to address the matter with seriousness this year.

Sky Sports F1 reported that, for the season opener in Australia from March 14-16, static deflection tests on rear wings will be expanded. In addition, front-wing tests will be introduced from the ninth round in Spain at the beginning of June. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella confirmed that the team has been asked to make changes by the FIA, but pointed out that the modifications don't need to be made immediately. He said:

"No headache at all.

"We don't have to make many adjustments at all for the start of the season. There will be a small adjustment required from race nine.

"I know it's become a big talking point, but in terms of what makes us busy and what gives us headaches, actually there are completely different topics which have much more to do with gaining those tenths of a second you refer to, that I might have made look simple.

"I don't want to look disrespectful to all the men and women at McLaren who work so hard and competently to actually make a faster car off what was already a very fast car in 2024."

The delay until the ninth round is said to help teams make necessary changes to their cars so they comply with the regulations. McLaren has been gearing up for the 2025 season by making major changes to its title contender, despite 2024's MCL38 being a competitive car. Revealing the changes and the reason for the overhaul, Stella said:

"In terms of improving the car, in addition to downforce and aerodynamic efficiency, in reality that's by far the most important target that you have, which is what we tried to achieve with this new car, which is innovative.

"It's a car in which we tried to raise the bar in many areas, including the fundamental layout, something that definitely we evaluated carefully, because the MCL38 was already a competitive car. We needed to be conscious, considerate as to how much we wanted to innovate, but ultimately actually we went for a relatively challenging approach in terms of how much innovation is in this car.

"This is predominantly to gain aerodynamic efficiency so to allow our colleagues in aerodynamics to have volumes to use for their geometries.

"At the same time, we still wanted to make some improvements in terms of interaction with the tyres and what you can do to improve especially what is your long-run pace.

"I think they fundamentally are the two areas. Obviously, there's some tuning on the suspension as well, in terms of the mechanical grip, but nowadays the suspensions pretty much tend to serve aerodynamics."