Ten and counting: How McLaren’s methodical revolution delivered back-to-back titles
- Elaina Russell
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Written by Elaina Russell, Edited by Rohan Brown
McLaren are champions again.
Under the floodlights of Singapore, the papaya outfit sealed their tenth Constructors’ championship (and second in succession) marking the team’s first back-to-back titles since the days of Ayrton Senna in 1990-91.
With six Grands Prix and three sprints still to come, McLaren’s 2025 campaign has already been a triumph of precision, evolution and unity. Their 650 points nearly double Mercedes’ total, built on 12 wins and 28 podiums across 18 rounds. But beyond the statistics lies a story of a long-term vision finally realised.
From rebuild to renaissance
When Zak Brown became McLaren’s CEO in 2016, he inherited the shadow of a once-great team. The Honda partnership had imploded, morale was low and leadership instability had bred confusion. Brown’s response was swift and uncompromising: redefine accountability, recruit strategically and modernise from within.
His decisions were not always popular, but they have proven to be effective. Brown prioritised cultural reform before chasing performance, fostering an environment where mistakes were analysed, not buried. That mindset, paired with financial discipline in the cost-cap era–laid the foundation for McLaren’s resurgence.
The Stella effect
Andrea Stella has been the quiet architect of McLaren’s return to glory. Calm, methodical and relentlessly process-driven. Stella’s leadership style contrasts with the sport’s more flamboyant figures.
Joining McLaren in 2015 from Ferrari, he rose steadily through the ranks: Head of Race Operations, Performance Director, Racing Director and from December 2022, Team Principal. His promotion came amid another internal reshuffle, following Andreas Seidl’s departure to Sauber.
Within 18 months, Stella’s promotion proved fruitful and McLaren found themselves back at the top. Under Stella’s stewardship, the team claimed their first Constructors’ Championship since 1998 in 2024 and defended it seamlessly in 2025.
Engineering evolution
McLaren’s technical turnaround has been as deliberate as its managerial one. In the cost-cap era, efficiency is everything and McLaren’s resource allocation has been near faultless.
Key to that evolution was the recruitment of Rob Marshall, Red Bull’s long-serving engineering visionary, who joined in 2024 as technical director of engineering and design. A mid-season restructuring later elevated him to chief designer, cementing his influence on the MCL39’s concept and aerodynamic coherence.
Upgrades have shown remarkable wind tunnel-to-track correlation, a consistency many rivals still chase. The car’s balance, tyre management and aerodynamic stability have made it beyond fast and largely forgiving. Over long stints, McLaren’s tyre preservation has given them strategic flexibility, allowing both drivers to control races rather than react to them.
A team-first driver dynamic
And where all else fails, in a sport defined by egos and internal fractures, McLaren’s unity between drivers has stood out.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have been evenly matched across the season–seven wins for Piastri, five for Norris–but neither has allowed rivalry to spill into the toxic territory seen at other teams. Together, they have delivered the consistency that defines this era: 28 podiums between them, 33 top-ten finishes and points in every race thus far.
That team-oriented approach may soon be tested though. The fight for the Drivers’ Championship remains open, and history shows unity is hardest to maintain when individual glory is at stake.
Singapore: the crowning moment
In the end, Singapore was an example of McLaren’s season - controlled, composed and collectively efficient. Norris’ third and Piastri’s fourth were more than enough to mathematically secure the constructors’ Championship with six rounds remaining.
It was not about dominance on the day, but consistency across a year. From the MCL39’s debut to its relentless mid-season development, McLaren have been the gold standard of modern Formula One execution in the 2025 season.
What comes next
With the Constructors’ crown secured and both drivers still in the title fight, the next six races promise to be as tense as they are celebratory. Though McLaren are likely already planning the next technical cycle, the tone inside Woking will be one of satisfaction without complacency.
As Piastri put it in an interview post-race: “This is one of the two objectives we set out to achieve every year, so to achieve it with this many races to go is very, very impressive. I’m just very happy for the whole team.”
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