Lando Norris positive ahead of title bid as he gets first...

McLaren, who won last year’s constructors’ title, are eyeing more glory with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. McLaren have become the first team to launch their 2025 car ahead of the new F1 season – with the MCL39 sporting a special camouflage livery design at Silverstone. The papaya-clad outfit claimed their first constructors’ world title in 26 years with last year’s triumph, while Lando Norris finished second in the drivers’ championship behind Max Verstappen. Norris and Piastri are now targeting individual success this year as they both aim to become McLaren’s first drivers’ champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

Image Credit: The Independent [McLaren won their first constructors’ title in 26 years last season]

On Thursday morning, Norris took to the track in the MCL39 at Silverstone for a promotional filming day, with the car sporting what the team described as a “striking geometric camo design in shades of papaya and black”. Piastri will take over from Norris this afternoon, with the pair set to complete 125 miles of running between them. McLaren posted a brief video on Twitter/X of the car leaving the pitlane this morning, followed by a photo.

McLaren will reveal their full 2025 car livery at Tuesday’s 10-team season launch event, F1 75 Live, at The O2 Arena in London. “It’s exciting to hop in the MCL39 for the first time and see what it can do on track, ahead of pre-season testing in Bahrain,” Norris said. “The camo livery is a fun one and it’s great to be able to showcase something different ahead of our full livery reveal at the official F1 75 launch.

“This year will be more competitive than ever, so we’ve got a lot to do to be able to retain our constructor’s title and go for the drivers’ as well.”. Piastri added: “I have been working hard in the off-season to ensure I am ready for the season ahead. “The margins at the top are likely to be incredibly tight but I’m excited by the room for growth after two seasons in the sport. “Winning grands prix early in my career has given me the taste for success and I want much more. As a team, we can take great momentum into 2025 after such a brilliant year in 2024.”.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown acknowledged that every team will have made “progress” over the winter ahead of the final season with the sport’s current set of regulations. McLaren won last year’s constructors title by 14 points, having finished fourth in 2023. “Today is a big milestone in our journey in the fight for the 2025 title. It’s great to get our Championship challenger, the MCL39, on track for the first time and to launch the culmination of the team’s hard work,” Brown said.

“We must be realistic that every team will have made progress over the winter. Last year highlighted just how much the grid has closed up, which is a brilliant thing for the sport. “We believe we have made further steps forward since the Championship-winning MCL38 but we won’t know where we sit in the standings until we get into qualifying in Australia. “We’re a team that never stops racing and we’ll be giving it our all to bring both championships back to Woking.”.