McLaren have been the team to beat in the 2025 Formula 1 season, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri putting up a combined 559 points by midseason.
Red Bull have ruled the grid through the 2023 and 2024 campaigns behind Max Verstappen, but internal issues and stalled development have seen them lose ground this year.
The car concept that delivered three straight titles for Verstappen now ranks only fourth in pace, while McLaren are leading the charge for both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships.
Speculation has swirled about what is driving their early-season success. Red Bull have pointed to McLaren’s brake duct design as a key factor.
But former F1 engineer Nick Wirth believes it was something more fundamental behind closed doors, as he discussed on The Race F1 Tech Show podcast.
Nick Wirth believes McLaren achieved a breakthrough in CFD with their 2025 F1 car
Teams have strict limits on how many hours they can spend using wind tunnels and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, but the technology itself also has its own constraints.
Wirth, who was a strong proponent of CFD during his time at Virgin Racing, believes McLaren have found a way to make it work to their advantage.
“The final thing I went on about, which is just the slam dunk for me, is the fact that you can’t do curved flow [in a wind tunnel].
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that’s McLaren. One of the teams, particularly McLaren who’s just dominating utterly at the moment, have made a breakthrough there and everybody’s completely confused by the performance and it’s obviously just sensational downforce.
“People talk about tyre cooling and this, that, and the other and there’s just nothing like another 15 points more downforce than your competitors which just kind of sorts the problem out. They may have very good heat rejection et cetera et cetera.”
McLaren warned their 2025 F1 rivals that they could get even stronger
McLaren’s rise has not happened by accident. They have brought in some high-profile names, like Rob Marshall from Red Bull, to strengthen their team.
Peter Prodromou was another key addition to the aero department during their 2023 restructuring. His work has played a big part in the car’s recent improvements.
Wirth does not see this as a flash in the pan. He believes McLaren will maintain this level of performance heading into 2026, when new chassis and engine rules come into play.
“The car’s not unbeatable, but they’ve done an astonishing job. And if they figured that out, people better look out because they’re going carry this on in 2026.
“They seem to have figured out something fundamental, and the others just are not able to match them, which is astonishing considering the period it’s happened over. And knowing Peter Prodromou’s interest in digital aerodynamics, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s a part of it.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
