McLaren bracing for ‘incredible challenge’ after F1 breakthrough

Andrea Stella is readying himself and McLaren for an "incredibly challenging" 2025 F1 season as the Woking squad looks to successfully defend its constructors' championship.

That is a feat the papaya outfit has not achieved since 1991, and its team principal is acutely aware of how competitive the campaign ahead promises to be.

McLaren lifted the curtain on its new car, the MCL39, at Silverstone today in a camo disguise, with its official livery being launched alongside its F1 rivals at London's O2 next week.

Ferrari pushed McLaren to the wire in 2024 and with Red Bull and Mercedes not far behind, the Stella-led operation know prior success comes with no guarantees for the season to come.

"We are excited to see the MCL39 hit the track for the first time at Silverstone Circuit today," the Italian said.

"Whilst we finished last year as champions, 2024 highlighted how highly competitive the grid is, which is something that will carry through to this year’s championship.

"We therefore must keep focused to compete at the front in this tight field. It’s going to be an exciting but incredibly challenging year ahead."

Stella was keen to thank the whole McLaren team for its hard work over the off season - and also credited power unit suppliers Mercedes HPP for their continued collaboration.

"The team have worked extremely hard to prepare as best as possible for the start of the season," he added. "We learned a lot from our battles last year, so we take this and use it to push our goal for the year.

“My thanks go to the entire team for their work to get the car ready for today, as well as our colleagues at Mercedes HPP for their continued collaboration.

"We now focus on the work ahead to ensure we maximise our time in testing before the first competitive session in Australia."