F1 | Evolutionary packages: upgrades for McLaren, often downgrades for rivals

Since Formula 1 entered the current technical cycle, the famous “upgrade packages” have become a thorny issue. Until the 80s, teams were reluctant to get their hands on a winning single-seater, then we entered the era of full-time developments with technical departments operating ‘h24’ throughout the season. Starting from last year, however, something has changed, the teams have continued to bring ‘upgrades’ to the track but not infrequently they have turned out to be ‘downgrades’. A real nightmare for engineers, who found themselves dealing with new problems when they hoped to have solved known ones.

“No one will admit it, but today when we mount new details on the single-seaters we touch wood – admitted an engineer – there is no longer that perfect correlation between the track and the simulations that for years has made us certain of our choices, just look at the faces of the technicians when they bring new things to the track on Friday”. There are those who touch wood and those who find themselves faced with a choice that could prove crucial for the world verdicts of the 2024 season. After the peremptory success in the Singapore Grand Prix, Andrea Stella admitted that the prospect of modifying the MCL38 is not among the easiest choices. The team has a package of new features ready for the Austin weekend, but the domination confirmed by Norris at Marina Bay has triggered some doubts among the technicians in Woking.

“It’s one of my thoughts,” admitted the McLaren team principal, “we have some things in the pipeline but when you find yourself faced with these performances you have to be cautious with the developments. I think we have to trust the working method we’ve had so far, but we’ll take all the time we need to make sure that what we bring to the track is in line with our expectations.” So far, McLaren has made the difference precisely on this front, standing out for the immediate efficiency of every technical development brought to the track.

In other pits the season has seen very different results. Mercedes has made life very difficult for itself with a floor brought to Spa that has never reflected the team’s expectations, at Red Bull they found themselves struggling with new problems due to the innovations introduced at Zandvoort, returning shortly after to the floor from the beginning of the season. Things didn’t go any better for Ferrari, who found themselves bouncing around after the introduction of the ‘Barcelona’ package, while Aston Martin was forced to remove the innovations brought to Imola from the cars due to driveability problems.

McLaren seems to have a better correlation, and with this advantage it is very likely that the team will continue with its work plan. But on Friday in Austin, waiting for the track to give its verdict, there will be some apprehension. “In Formula 1 you can’t hold back,” Stella admitted, “because it means exposing yourself to the opponents’ catch-up, and we don’t know the plans of the other teams. We are very competitive, it’s true, but I think we need to continue to be aggressive in terms of development.”

The scenario at Red Bull is very different. The verdicts arrived after the summer break confirmed that the RB20 in its current state is not capable of worrying McLaren, consequently any update will be welcome as there is nothing to lose. A very different picture compared to last year, when the RB19 confirmed its ability to dominate from the first to the last race, but after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, speaking about the current problems of the single-seater, Horner surprised by returning precisely to the 2023 season.

“Obviously the drop in performance this season has been the subject of a lot of analysis on our part – he revealed – and we discovered that the first mistake was made in the bottom that we brought last year to the Spanish Grand Prix. Looking back at everything in hindsight we discovered that Checo started having problems right from that weekend, but we didn’t take his situation seriously because Max had won the race…”.