F1 2025: Mclarens stops development for budget cap reasons?

The F1 2025 season heats up: with contrasting Red Bull and McLaren strategies and possible penalties, the championship finale promises fireworks. With some budget cap limitations.

In this final stretch of the season, McLaren and Red Bull are set to fight for the drivers’ championship right down to the wire. But with very different strategies.
McLaren decided as early as this summer to halt development on the cars of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
The car, which had proven extremely competitive in the first half of the season, has since suffered a remarkable comeback from Max Verstappen in the latter stages.

Beyond the Dutchman’s talent, Red Bull took the opposite approach, choosing to keep updating the RB21.
That choice paid off, the upgrades worked so well that Verstappen managed to close half the gap to Piastri.
But why such different strategies?

Read more: Mexico Gp Preview 5 curiosities about the Mexican GP Hermanos Rodríguez Circuit

G1XhjK5X0AAZDEV-1024x683 Red Bull continues its technical F1 upgrades, McLaren stops development

Possible Budget cap penalty for McLaren?

News broke yesterday that during the 2024 season, two teams exceeded the FIA’s Budget Cap, the maximum annual spending limit for car development.

Among the teams under investigation is Aston Martin, which has already admitted to a minor overspend.
However, the real shock could be another top team: reports suggest it might be McLaren, the reigning Constructors’ World Champion, ahead of Ferrari.

If confirmed, the violation could explain several strategic decisions.

McLaren reportedly stopped development of the MCL39 to offset the excess spending from the previous year. A sort of strategic mea culpa, planned well in advance.

The Woking-based team apparently realized early on that its 2025 car would be a step ahead of the competition. Allowing it to go through much of the season without introducing major upgrades.

Red Bull continues its run of upgrades starting from the Mexican F1 Grand Prix.

Red Bull, meanwhile, has shown an exponential rise in performance, continuing to develop the RB21 deep into the season. This unlocked a massive potential, fully exploited by Max Verstappen.

The FIA’s Budget Cap F1 is set at $135 million per team per season.
Breaching it can lead to various penalties — from points deductions and heavy fines to, in extreme cases (which have not yet occurred), disqualification.

It remains unclear by how much McLaren exceeded the limit in 2024, but there’s another interesting factor:
Ferrari finished the 2024 season as Formula 1 Constructors’ runner-up, just 14 points behind McLaren.
In Maranello, they’re likely rubbing their hands. If McLaren is penalized retroactively for 2024, the Constructors’ standings could change. The runner-up 2024 title could fall into Ferrari’s hands.

Mexico Gp Red Bull Updates

Meanwhile, Red Bull continues its development program on the RB21.
Ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix, Paul Monaghan, the team’s chief engineer, confirmed that small updates will continue to appear in the upcoming rounds.

For the Mexican GP, the team introduced four key updates, mainly aimed at improving cooling efficiency with wider air inlets and optimizing aerodynamic load management: