McLaren, the concept is the right one: with the updates I aim at Ferrari and Mercedes

McLaren has no intention of giving up the championship crown so easily. The hope in Woking is to replicate the amazing technical comeback of 2023, which this time starts from even better premises. In fact, unlike three years ago, the team does not believe it needs to start from a new concept. What has held the MCL40 back so far has not been the wrong setting, but rather an update schedule that is very different from the competition. The first developments in four months in Miami The papaya team started the season with a dual nature of delay from Mercedes. On the one hand, the exploitation of the Brixworth power unit was not at the level of the Silver Arrows, especially from the point of view of energy management, but the MCL40 also paid its dues on the aerodynamics front. “At McLaren we all know that we need to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the car, in particular the load,” analyzed Andrea Stella already during the Chinese Grand Prix. In Woking the belief is that they will be able to make good use of the new Pirelli tyres, attributing the lack of grip mainly to aerodynamics. However, be careful not to underestimate the work carried out by the aerodynamic group, coordinated by Peter Prodromou. McLaren is the only top team to have introduced almost no updates, racing at Suzuka in the same guise as the Barcelona tests last January. It is even more surprising that, despite these assumptions, the team had no plans to introduce developments in the events canceled in April, as Stella revealed: “In all honesty, we didn’t have any big projects in the pipeline for Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, we had aimed for a date after those two events. Our development path wasn’t affected much.” Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images McLaren preferred to go step by step, initially prolonging the gestation of the MCL40 as long as possible, so much so that it planned its test debut two days late. Next, the team took its time gathering data, understanding the car and getting inspired by the competition, working on an upgrade package that, when it arrives in Miami, will be the first in four months. “There are some good things happening with development,” commented Stella. “I expect the car to improve significantly in the coming races.” The concept is the right one. The reigning world champions are hoping to get back to the top of the class, having already achieved something similar three years ago. “I think there is a substantial difference compared to 2023,” Stella observed. “The car we have now is a solid platform. If anything, it is underdeveloped, but there is nothing wrong with it from a conceptual point of view. It just needs to be developed more, following the conceptual guidelines we outlined in the design phase.” In 2023 the team introduced a major package of updates in Baku in April, defined as a conceptual change. From the simulations, in fact, the initial concept of the MCL60 had no potential to go beyond the role of fourth or fifth force by the end of the year: “We had to go back to the drawing board and redesign the flow field we wanted to obtain from a conceptual point of view, then reviewing the geometries quite extensively. For this car, however, I think it will be more about accelerating development according to the principles that we believe are correct.” The MCL40 project, set for April 2024, evidently promises wide margins for growth, but McLaren did not want to rush the times. The team chose not to make any updates before Miami, maximizing wind tunnel time to develop a big package with a big picture, rather than as a sum of new parts. Furthermore, the approach allowed savings on the budget cap, with the possibility of investing resources later in the season. Joe Portlock/Getty Images Tire management is also good. While waiting for the news, the MCL40 has already shown that it has retained one of its progenitor’s strong points. Suzuka was the first race this year where thermal degradation was the limiting factor, a phenomenon which the Papaya car managed well. Part of the credit goes to the rear suspension, which represents an evolution of that of 2025, but also to the design of the rims and brake ducts to cool the tires from the inside. Graining on the front tires, however, remains a chronic weak point of the Woking single-seaters, highlighted by the new Pirellis, which are more sensitive to mechanical wear than the previous ones. McLaren hopes to improve the situation by increasing downforce with the updates, while also lightening the MCL40 to its minimum weight. The comeback over Mercedes, however, will also depend on the ability to improve the exploitation of the power unit. At the beginning of the season, the Papaya team paid for the disadvantage of being a customer team, not being able to fully understand all the sensitivities and facets of the engine at the same level as a complete manufacturer. The shortcomings have negatively affected simulation techniques and energy management strategies, but McLaren has nevertheless shown that it is capable of progressing as its skills have increased. The objective is to put more and more pressure on Mercedes, provided they no longer suffer from the reliability problems that prevented them from taking part in the Chinese Grand Prix, also limiting Norris’ preparation during free practice at Suzuka. The drivers’ and constructors’ rankings are respectively 47 and 89 points behind the top, but the feeling is that McLaren still has many cards to play.