When the story of the 2025 Formula 1 Season comes to be written, it will be a remarkable one. It began with Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominating again just as they have the last two years. However, following allegations concerning off-track activities centred on team boss Christian Horner, design boss Adrian Newey left.
Since then, the technical performance has declined and Verstappen’s Red Bull has not won a race since Spain in June. At that point, he had won seven of the first ten races. He has not won any of the ten since.
However, as McLaren Mercedes have cut the lead at the top of the Constructers’ Championship and Lando Norris has crept ever closer in the Drivers’ Championship, nobody should think that the shrinking lead and growing potential for a thrilling climax are just down to Red Bull’s decline.
As the F1 website’s Tech Weekly features notes, that is far from the case. It highlighted a brilliant piece of precision engineering by McLaren Mercedes concerning how its brakes worked in the Mexican Grand Prix, which helped Land Norris pip Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari for second place.
The design feature benefitted Norris due to the altitude of the circuit, where the thinner air cools brakes by 25 per cent less than it would in a sea-level circuit. This makes it harder to control discs and callipers – and therefore the pace. However, adding extra cooling capacity means bigger air ducts and less aerodynamic performance.
However, the engineers at McLaren Mercedes have found a solution by developing a brake duct that takes the air in over the brake disc and out over the exit, while also using carbon fibre instead of Ferrari’s choice of aluminium, the former conducting less heat.
The upshot was better performance in a key area in specific conditions, producing more points for Norris as he chases Verstappen down.
Mexico does present some exceptional conditions, in stark contrast with coastal circuits from Melbourne to Monte Carlo. But the points still matter and as the championship races tighten, it is innovations that help cars perform better in all circumstances that can make the difference.