McLaren, what growth: problems almost solved, but there is a risk | FP

By Carlo Platella
With ten races to go, McLaren appears to be the most credible opponent for Red Bull, especially in the pursuit of the constructors’ title. two aspects that strike of the Woking team’s growth: the ability to precisely address the weak points of the project and the effectiveness of each individual update, without taking a step back due to correlation problems. Development so far has improved the MCL38’s driveability and slow-speed agility, while low-load efficiency gains are at 50%. Further updates are expected when the break comes, with the potential to push McLaren even higher, but also with the risk of upsetting its balance.

A great achievement

The turning point of the season is the Miami Grand Prix and not only because of Lando Norris’ victory. In Florida, the Englishman’s single-seater debuts the first and so far only major package of updates, with modifications to the bottom, side air intakes and bodywork, components with a close aerodynamic interaction with each other. The car benefits from a 360° developmentwith modifications to the wing and front suspension fairings to correct the aerodynamic structure of the flows that propagate from the front axle to the centre of the car.

It doesn’t take long before the package receives the approval of both the stopwatch and Andrea Stella: “It seems that the car we brought to Miami behaves better at low speeds, perhaps even beyond expectations. The picture of our competitiveness is starting to change and slow is no longer a clear weakness”. Improving competitiveness in the slow lap is a crucial goal for McLaren, which previously excelled in the fast corners but suffered at low speeds. This was a chronic weakness in the Woking cars, identifiable even under the old regulations, as well as another weak point on which the team is showing progress.

Speed ​​wanted

The other big flaw of the McLaren was its competitiveness on high-speed circuits. In fact, efficiency, understood not as simple aerodynamic penetration, but as the ratio between load and resistance on a straight line, is not constant. In low aerodynamic load trim Woking’s cars paid for their lack of speed on the straightas demonstrated last season by the difficult weekends in Las Vegas, Monza and Spa, the latter track where the MCL60s excelled in the central sector but lost all their advantage in acceleration.

Since then, McLaren has done its homework, working both towards better overall efficiency and providing specific adaptations to low-downforce tracks, introducing new rear wings and beam-wings. Strengthened by the feedback gathered at the end of July at Spa, Andrea Stella confirms the progress in this area too: “I think we’re 50% done.. I am convinced that in high downforce configuration the car is well placed and that it does exactly what we want, especially in terms of aerodynamic behaviour. However, we have not yet developed much at lower drag levels”.

“It’s no surprise to me that in Belgium we were not as competitive as in Hungary and that with the same top speed we would lose a bit in the second sector”, continues the Team Principal. “It means that to gain speed we sacrifice grip. I hope that in the future, maybe next year in Belgium, we will have completed this path to have the most efficient car even when top speeds are important”. Important progress for McLaren in view of the world championship, given that three of the ten remaining events will be held on low-load tracks: Monza, Baku and Las Vegas.

The risk of development

Meanwhile, the Woking team still has several shots up its sleeve in terms of updates, given that up to now it has been one of the teams that has brought the least innovations to the track. “From a certain point of view I’m surprised that we were so competitive, considering that from Miami onwards we didn’t bring many new parts.”, reflects Stella, who announces. “Obviously the Miami package was substantial, but there are some updates coming in the second part of the season”. An attractive prospect for McLaren, with the potential to gain an advantage over Red Bull. However, opportunities come with risks.

Starting from Red Bull itself, in the search for further performance, several teams have altered the behavior of their cars, compromising their balance and driveability. The gains in terms of aerodynamic numbers thus clash with the time lost due to driving inaccuracies and sacrifices on the set-up.The drivers had to hold back because they couldn’t hear the car and‘the impact on the clock can be three or four times greater than the gainor those two extra loading points”Fred Vasseur’s comment on the bouncing suffered by Ferrari, similar to Mike Krack’s at Aston Martin: “If the car surprises you, you keep a margin. You don’t go at your maximum and there is no confidence, which I think is one of the most important qualities”Problems that McLaren also risks running into with upcoming developments.

The strength of McLaren

However, if there is one aspect in which the Woking team stands out from the competition, it is precisely the ability to not compromise the car’s driveability with updates. On the contrary, the Miami package has performed beyond expectations thanks to improvements to the driving style, instilling greater confidence in the drivers. Indicative are the words of Oscar Piastri, according to whom the basic character of the car has not changed much compared to last season: “It’s not a completely different car compared to last year in terms of how it should be driven. Some things have improved though.”

“Especially at the beginning of the year we were struggling in some areas which made the car difficult to drive. It’s still not an ‘easy’ car, but every team has its own difficulties. In a way, having a car that is familiar compared to last season I think can be positive.” Despite some character flaws, the fact that the project retains the same basic essence is a testament to the team’s foresight in predicting the impact of updates. “We learned what to look for on the computer and in the wind tunnel to make sure the updates correlate with the track.”declared Andrea Stella in May to Sky microphones. Words that encourage us to look with optimism at the next developments underway in Woking.