As the new years begins to get underway, it’s time to start dreaming about what we may see in the upcoming F1 2025 season — including who we think could win the World Constructors’ Championship.

For many, then answer is clear — leading David Coulthard to issue his own prediction just after the 2024 F1 season came to an end.

McLaren are “ahead of their own schedule”

McLaren proved to be one of the big surprises of the 2024 Formula 1 season. The year kicked off with another masterclass from Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, setting the expectation that their dominance would continue.

Then, in Miami, McLaren brought an upgrade package that turned the tides of the season.

While Lando Norris did take advantage of a safety car period to secure his first race victory, the fact that he was in position to do so signaled a serious shift in the team’s capabilities — and things were only uphill from there, with both Norris and Oscar Piastri fighting for wins and, ultimately, bringing home the World Constructors’ Championship.

And over on Channel 4, David Coulthard had nothing but praise for the Woking-based team, saying, “The thing that I think has made it so special is [that] they’re ahead of their own schedule.”

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“They just didn’t start the year thinking they were in contention to win it,” he continued.

“They’ve been invested in this building schedule over a few years, and then got to mid — well, not even mid-season!

“We got a few races in, and suddenly they’re there.

“They’re showing pace. The upgrades are working. The drivers are working beautifully together, and that momentum has carried them to this championship.”

That performance in 2024 saw Coulthard pick the team as the decisive favorites.

“Everything is now set up for them to go into 2025 the favorites with winning drivers,” he said.

While McLaren is something of a legacy team, Coulthard also stressed that the outfit weren’t merely handed a championship because of “the name above the door.”

“It’s the people,” he explained. And that name of success that McLaren had in the 90s and 80s and all that — they needed to rebuild. They needed to build the confidence and the team.

“They needed to invest in the right people under this leadership, ultimately, of Zak [Brown], who’s an absolute racer, isn’t he? He goes out and drives McLarens for fun.

“And then Andrea Stella had success with Ferrari. He’s put together an engineering team, two young drivers that have blossomed, and the rest is history.”

But will history continue into 2025? Zak Brown has already stated that McLaren will be introducing a new design concept coming into the year, with the outfit taking “bold risks.”

Will the strategy pay off? We’re only a few more weeks from beginning to find out.

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