Breaking:Ingenious McLaren Brake System Revealed Amid 2025 F1 Season Dom…read more
McLaren F1 ‘trick’ exposed after early season domination
A breakthrough discovery by an aerodynamics expert has revealed a key technical innovation behind McLaren’s commanding form in the 2025 Formula 1 season. The Woking-based team has taken the sport by storm, clinching five out of the opening six races. With young stars Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris locked in a tight title fight, and four-time world champion Max Verstappen trailing behind, McLaren also sits comfortably atop the Constructors’ Championship, boasting a 105-point lead.
The team’s rise to dominance has raised eyebrows in the paddock, especially with F1 in its final season under the current technical regulations before a sweeping rules reset in 2026. Though some expected teams like Red Bull or Mercedes to continue leading, it’s McLaren that has emerged as the dominant force — a significant turnaround from their backmarker status just two years ago.
Rumors about McLaren’s performance have swirled since 2024. One particularly far-fetched theory, proposed by Red Bull, claimed that the team was filling its tyres with water to control temperatures. This was quickly dismissed by the FIA and later mocked by McLaren CEO Zak Brown during the Miami Grand Prix.
Now, a more credible explanation has surfaced. Aerodynamics engineer Martin Buchan, in a recent YouTube analysis, has shed light on a sophisticated and entirely legal innovation hidden within McLaren’s brake system. According to Buchan, the car employs a two-phase braking process that not only heats the tyres quickly but prevents them from overheating — a crucial advantage in race conditions.
The key lies in the use of a special phase-changing material (PCM) embedded within the brake housing. When the brakes are applied, the system initially transfers heat to warm the tyres efficiently. As temperatures climb, the outer brake drum detects when heat levels are nearing a critical threshold. At that point, the PCM undergoes a state change — turning from solid to liquid — which absorbs excess heat and stabilizes the tyre temperature.
This complex, thermally adaptive mechanism is thought to help McLaren consistently hit the optimal tyre window, even under variable conditions, giving them a performance edge over rivals. While the innovation may now be known among competing teams, replicating such a tailored solution mid-season could be technically difficult, especially given the intricacies of integrating it into existing car architectures.
Interestingly, this design might also explain why McLaren frequently performs extended race simulations during FP3 sessions these long runs help ensure the system operates correctly under real-world conditions.
This technical ingenuity is just one part of McLaren’s remarkable resurgence. From being the slowest car on the grid at the start of 2023 to capturing the 2024 Constructors’ Championship, the team’s rise has been rapid and deliberate. Now, with both Norris and Piastri showcasing elite pace and consistency, McLaren hopes to claim their first Drivers’ Championship since Lewis Hamilton’s iconic 2008 title win — and with their current form, that dream seems increasingly within reach.
