P1racenews AI automatic summary:
McLaren saw its performance advantage completely disappear in the closing stages of 2025, due to its development approach.
McLaren chief designer Rob Marshall addressed the development approach of last year’s Formula 1 car, denying it suffered due to switching focus to 2026. Despite dominating the first half of the season and clinching both championships, McLaren faced a late-season surge from Red Bull, reducing their advantage. McLaren shifted focus to the 2026 car earlier than Red Bull, causing their performance edge to diminish. Marshall maintained that McLaren’s decision was strategic, not a premature abandonment of the 2025 car. He expressed confidence in their approach for the final year of the ground-effect era, believing it was the right move in the end.
