If the 2023 world championship had started from the Austrian GP, a race in which the Woking team presented the revised and corrected MCL60, McLaren today would indisputably be the second force in the world championship behind Red Bull, sweeping away Mercedes and Ferrari who, instead , are competing for the place of honor in the Constructors’ championship.
The team directed by Andrea Stella also demonstrated the potential of the MCL60 in Mexico, implementing a comeback with Lando Norris that took him from 17th position on the grid to fifth at the finish line. The Englishman paid dearly for the mistake in Q1, but then was able to make the most of the excellent potential of the Papaya single-seater even with a very aggressive strategy.
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60, engaged in the Mexican GP
Let’s not forget, in fact, that Lando was the only driver to line up at the start with a set of soft tyres, making it clear to everyone that he would start with a knife between his teeth to recover positions with the compound advantage, knowing full well that the red one would have lasted less: at the pit stop on lap 11 he had already risen to 11th place to switch to the hard ones.
Norris benefited from the red flag on lap 36 to bet on the mediums and give rise to the spectacular comeback that took him to the fifth place finish, after a difficult start: “I struggled to get the tires up to temperature – said Norris – and after the second start I lost a few positions, slipping to 14th, but then I really enjoyed pulling off some great braking, putting the various opponents who were the various Georges in difficulty [Russell]Alex [Albon]Oscar [Piastri] and Daniel was certainly the toughest when braking.”
The team made his task easier with Piastri: the Australian was given the order to step aside and the rookie respected the wall’s instructions without saying a word. In the end, Norris was the third driver to break the 1’22” barrier together with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, confirming McLaren’s excellent form.
![McLaren MCL60: in addition to the hot air vents, the exiting bazooka has been enlarged](https://cdn-6.motorsport.com/images/mgl/2eAaPrj2/s1000/mclaren-mcl60-detail-1.jpg)
Photo by: Filip Cleeren
McLaren MCL60: in addition to the hot air vents, the exiting bazooka has been enlarged
The Woking team manages to exploit the potential of the Mercedes power unit without fearing that the rarefied air of the 2,200 meters of Mexico City could undermine the reliability of the 6-cylinder Mercedes. Like all the other teams, McLaren has taken steps to open the hot air vents to facilitate its extraction with larger gills and a more generous bazooka shape at the tail, managing to control signs of engine overheating, without having to reduce performance as, for example, Ferrari had to do.
![McLaren MCL60: Here's the biggest brake air intake for Mexico](https://cdn-3.motorsport.com/images/mgl/2wB5nPM0/s1000/mclaren-mcl60-detail-1.jpg)
Photo by: Filip Cleeren
McLaren MCL60: Here’s the biggest brake air intake for Mexico
Much attention had also been paid to the braking system: not so much because of the braking which wasn’t too demanding, but because of the insufficient air flow to guarantee cooling of the corner. McLaren engineers not only ensured the necessary air flow to the brake discs and calipers, but also worked to maintain a good temperature between the two carbon baskets in order to avoid thermal transmittance from the brakes to the rims and also to the tyres, having dared to choose softer compounds in the race than the majority of his rivals.
![McLaren MCL60: here is the brake intake in Singapore larger than the standard one, but less than the one in Mexico](https://cdn-8.motorsport.com/images/mgl/2d1aPzwY/s1000/mclaren-mcl60-detail-1.jpg)
Photo by: Filip Cleeren
McLaren MCL60: here is the brake intake in Singapore larger than the standard one, but less than the one in Mexico
Therefore, the adoption of an increased brake grip compared to the version brought to Singapore which was already considerably larger than the standard one was not surprising. In Woking they not only redesigned the inlet intake, but also revised the hot air outlet one, having to do painstaking work around the front pull rod suspension rod.
![McLaren MCL60, detail of the rake with Kiel sensors mounted under the profile of the rear wing](https://cdn-5.motorsport.com/images/mgl/0qXZnKw6/s1000/mclaren-mcl60-detail-1.jpg)
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
McLaren MCL60, detail of the rake with Kiel sensors mounted under the profile of the rear wing
In Mexico City the aerodynamicists also worked with the future in mind: in free practice a small rake full of Kiel sensors was mounted under the main profile of the rear wing to evaluate the efficiency of the air flow in a key area of the car for the good functioning of both the beam wing and the extraction effect of the diffuser.
There was also a good splash of flow viz paint to visualize the flow trend in that area: with the new, ultra-modern wind tunnel, McLaren is also looking very optimistically towards the 2024 season…
#McLaren #aggressive #reliability