Oscar Piastri took to the track in McLaren’s 2025 challenger for the first time on Thursday.
The Woking-based outfit ran a surprise filming day for the MCL39 at Silverstone. Piastri and Lando Norris drove the car for a maximum of 200km as per the regulations.
McLaren are the first team to reveal their machine for the 2025 season. Anticipation was high for the MCL39 given it is the favourite to win the title this year.
McLaren won their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998 last year, beating Ferrari by 14 points. With arguably the fastest package on the grid, the team are looking to dethrone Max Verstappen for the drivers’ title.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
666 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
652 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
589 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
468 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
94 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
65 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
58 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
Piastri finished fourth in 2024 with two wins and eight podiums. The Aussie had to take a step back in the second half of the season after McLaren intervened with ‘papaya rules’ to favour Norris.
Now, Piastri says it would be ‘silly’ if he did not challenge for the title in 2025. His comments will worry his teammate as Norris will not have it easy from the other side of the McLaren garage.
Oscar Piastri hints he may ‘try and revive’ McLaren’s cameo livery from Silverstone filming day
Norris and Piastri reported positive feedback on the MCL39 during their run at Silverstone. The car sported a striking cameo livery for the test.
The team could not use their 2025 design as that will be unveiled at the F175 event at the O2 Arena on February 18. Despite it being a one-off livery, McLaren fans were loving the cameo look.
One fan posted on X (formerly Twitter): “I know it’s not the actual livery but it looks good, I don’t mind it,” while another said: “This is insane can’t wait to see how final product looks with sponsors and number etc.”
One user wrote: “This is the new hunter on track? DOPE!” while another asked McLaren: “Can you please keep this livery, car looks awesome!”
Piastri agreed with McLaren fans, saying the cameo livery was ‘very cool’. Speaking on his TikTok account, the Aussie reiterated it is not the official 2025 design but hinted he may ‘try and revive’ it at some point.
“You would have seen the very cool cameo livery today, the cameo suits. Yeah, I thought it looked cool,” he said.
“And before any of you ask, no, that livery is not staying for the season. I agree it looks very cool.
“So I don’t know, maybe I’ll put some words into Mark [Temple] and we can try and revive it.”
The notable differences spotted on the MCL39 at Silverstone
McLaren’s cameo livery was designed to try and hide any potential changes to the car heading into 2025. The team did not want to use last year’s livery for fear that these differences would be noticed.
However, the cameo design did not stop people from seeing significant alternations, with the MCL39 adopting aggressive evolutions on multiple components.
READ MORE: All you need to know about McLaren F1 Team from team principal to engine
McLaren will have a slimmer sidepod and smaller engine cover, as well as a new rear wing configuration – which was seen towards the backend of 2024.
McLaren have also adopted a Red Bull ‘solution’ with the rear suspension – hardly surprising given the number of recruitments the Woking-based outfit have made from their rivals.
The aggressive approach has brought huge optimism for the defending constructors’ champions in 2025. Damon Hill backs McLaren to be world champions again – but they will be looking to grab the drivers’ title more than anything else.
