Heading into the F1 2025 racing season, Ferrari and McLaren are easily the favorites when it comes to the constructors’ championship — but both are planning some major revisions from last year’s machine.

And on McLaren’s end, a new report has emerged suggesting that the Woking-based team’s alterations are set to be “very significant.”

McLaren to introduce “very extreme” car for F1 2025

After taking the World Constructors’ Championship in 2024, McLaren are looking to make a radical departure in the design language that led it to that title — and it’s not the only team looking to do something drastically different.

In a recent pre-season F1 report from Italian publication Gazzetta, both McLaren and Ferrari are looking to introduce sweeping changes to their 2025 machines with an eye to incoming 2026 regulations; both teams have reportedly found enough similarities between the current rules and the incoming ones that they’re able to start working on their future technology this year.

This follows a December statement from McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown that the Formula 1 team is planning on taking a “brave risk” with its 2025 car, the MCL39.

“We’re going into next year at full strength,” Brown told Motorsport.com.

“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.’”

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Per Gazzetta, McLaren technical director Rob Marshall has stated that the Woking-based team intend to begin working on some concepts for the F1 2026 season — which could explain some of the “risks” Brown mentioned.

The 2026 season will bring with it significant updates to Formula 1’s technical direction, both for the power units and for the other design elements surrounding the car, its suspension, aerodynamics, and more.

According to Gazzetta, the goal is to begin working on dynamic aerodynamics and to institute certain technical changes in advance of 2026. That way, when the new ruleset is officially introduced, McLaren will theoretically have a leg up on the competition courtesy of its extended 2025 test period.

The article does note, though, that many teams are thinking along a similar line — including Ferrari with its “pull rod” front suspension.

Is the “extreme” strategy the right one for teams like McLaren or Ferrari, which are both looking to take over as the dominant force in F1? We won’t know until the cars begin to take to the track in anger.

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