McLaren Mercedes MP4-25

The McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 is a Formula One race car used by the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes team in the 2010 Formula One season.

Overview
The McLaren MP4-25 was officially unveiled at title sponsor Vodafone's headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, United Kingdom on 29 January 2010. The chief designer of the car was Paddy Lowe, who is currently the technical executive director in the Mercedes F1 team.

The design uses a small "snorkel" air scoop mounted in front of the driver that channels air through a duct in the cockpit and towards the rear of the car. Changes in the pressure in the duct, in combination with small slots on the rear wing, causes the wing to enter a stalled state at high speed, reducing aerodynamic drag, and allowing the car as much as an extra 6 mph (9.7 km/h) on straights. The effect is controlled by the driver covering up a small hole in the cockpit with his left leg. Known internally as the RW80 it is widely called the "F-Duct" system either due to the shape of the air intake or the fact that it is beside the F of the Vodafone logo. Another term for the system is switchable rear wing (SRW). It was mildly controversial, with the Red Bull Racing team complaining to the FIA about the legality. The car was however cleared inspections prior to the season opener at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The MP4-25 uses a 2.4-liter Mercedes V8 engine, which was the standard engine format for all cars until 2013. Mercedes was also the main engine supplier for the team until it was replaced by Honda in 2015. It utilizes Bridgestone tires, which was also the final year Bridgestone supplied tires to Formula one until Pirelli took over.

The car was driven by world champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, which the former was transferred from Brawn GP at that time. The car was overall competitive, with 1 pole position set (Hamilton at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix), 16 podium finishes (Button 7; Hamilton 9), 6 fastest laps set (Button 1; Hamilton 5) and 5 race victories (Button 2; Hamilton 3). The team finished second overall in the season, with 454 points total, behind the constructors' champion Red Bull Racing (498 points). Hamilton scored 240 points overall and placed 4th, 16 points behind the drivers' champion Sebastian Vettel while Button was classified 5th with 214 points.

Asphalt 8: Airborne
The McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 was added in the Championship Update and is the first real-life Formula One car, along with the McLaren M14A, in the Asphalt series. It is the cover car of that update.

The McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 is a high-end Class A car, with a starting rank of 1357 (same as the MAX rank of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary), a hidden MAX rank of 1619 (shared with the Nissan GT-R NISMO), and a PRO rank of 1766. It receives a Tuning Kit bonus of +49 points and is unique in that it has 10 Pro Kit levels instead of the usual five, making up for the five missing MAX Upgrade levels. Despite its low rank, the MP4-25 mainly rivals the TRION NEMESIS, Devel Sixteen Prototype, BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage, Icona Vulcano V12 Hybrid, and McLaren MP4-31.

The McLaren Mercedes MP4-25's acceleration is extremely quick, for a Formula 1 car; in fact, it is the second fastest-accelerating car in the entire game, already faster than the TRION NEMESIS and Donkervoort D8 GTO and only rivaled by the McLaren MP4/8. The MP4-25 covers 1,269 ft (387 m) in 1.9 seconds in order to reach its maximum speed from a standstill (with Level 3 Nitro), compared to the NEMESIS's 1,545 ft (471 m) in 2.3 seconds. The MP4-25's top speed is superb, almost equivalent to the Mosler Super GT. This allows even the garage version of the car to defeat higher ranked TRION NEMESIS's in game. As an F1 car, it handles superbly just as intended, even in drifts. In spite of its impressive handling, it is noted to skid and wreck easily, much like the Mercedes-Benz Biome. In terms of nitro consumption efficiency, it is rated as a 6/12/16, just like the Super GT. In multiplayer, the MP4-25 performs well due to its extreme acceleration and high top speed. As of the Lunar New Year 2017 Update, due to the Tuning Kit bug being fixed, the MP4-25 is now even faster and more competitive than ever and can beat the TRION NEMESIS and BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage (the latter primarily on short and/or technical tracks) more easily due to its extreme acceleration and increased total speed. And if driven correctly in Multiplayer, one can beat even Aston Martin Vulcan users.

The McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 is unlockable through its own Championship. If it can't be obtained through its Championship, it can instead be purchased for. Fully upgrading it costs.

Availability
Following its debut in the McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 Championship, the MP4-25 has never been released temporarily in the garage for players who didn't obtain the car. Instead, the car appeared permanently in the garage as of the Car Blueprints Update, and players who did not obtain the car via Championship need to collect 30 Rare McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 Blueprints to assemble the car.