Formula 1 pre-season testing might have been inconclusive, but it gave a glimpse at the competitive order ahead of the 2025 season.
The regulations between 2024 and 2025 remain virtually unchanged, which means all of the teams will be creating evolutions of what they had last season.
McLaren appeared to be the benchmark team after Lando Norris produced an impressive race run on the second day of testing, which translated to him finishing the Bahrain Grand Prix at least 30 seconds ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc.
The defending Constructors’ champions head into the season as the favourites, with Norris also tipped to win the Drivers’ title if he can get a good start to the year.
The MCL39 has already shown that it is blisteringly quick over one lap, even if fuel loads and engine modes play a role in determining the pecking order. Red Bull is not far behind over one lap, with Mercedes surprisingly second according to GPS data.
Discussing McLaren’s chances on the RacingNews365.nl podcast, racing driver Tom Coronel believes there is one team that is holding something back.
Tom Coronel thinks McLaren is ‘covering up’ something on their car
McLaren’s pace in testing was done without giving too much away, while Ferrari’s one-lap runs often featured their cars bottoming out a lot – a sign that they were running high fuel.
The team has reportedly made a change to their steering rack on the MCL39, which has been hailed as the one ‘true innovation’ on this years cars.
Coronel believes McLaren might still be trying to cover up aspects of their performance, which they plan to unleash in Melbourne and add to their 189 wins this season.
“I really think they are covering up something and don’t want to show something, and ultimately if you look at the runs, there is little movement in the car – it’s very consistent. I was seriously impressed,” said Coronel.
Could McLaren be using a trick rear wing?
Heading into the first races of the season, F1 teams will be under increased scrutiny from the FIA regarding their front and rear wings.
After McLaren’s Mini-DRS was banned last year, teams have now found ways to increase how the wings deform within the regulations.
Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache believes McLaren is still using an outlawed version of the Mini-DRS concept, which could be a main talking point at the first race.
The FIA has introduced more stringent tests for Melbourne on the rear wing to prevent them from bending beyond the legal allowance, while tougher measures for the front wing will also be introduced for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Whispers within the F1 paddock also suggest that McLaren is coming up with ‘clever’ changes to the aerodynamic surfaces of their car.
