The McLaren MCL40 impresses, suspension never seen before

The McLaren MCL40 finally made its debut on the track, immediately making waves. The technical triumvirate formed by Peter Prodromou, Rob Marshall and Neil Houldey overturned the front suspension of the Papaya single-seater, making the solutions of previous years obsolete, from which in the meantime the competition took inspiration, including Ferrari. In Woking they are now eager to verify the actual competitiveness of a project that is as innovative as it is risky, also driven by the Mercedes power unit. The new front end What captures the attention of the new McLaren is the front suspension, which abandons the pull-rod scheme of the last four years in favor of the push-rod, considered aerodynamically more suitable for the new regulations and the setting chosen for the front wing. All this, however, almost takes second place compared to the arrangement of the surrounding elements. The upper triangle is once again strongly inclined (1), lowering the rearmost element to guide the flows in the direction of the bottom and the radiator outlets. The MCL40, however, goes even further, given that there is another element that attaches to the frame in an even further back and lowered position (2). This is the lower rear arm (3A), extended as much as possible towards the bottom. To make this possible, the team had to attach the same element to the wheel hub at the push-rod rod (3A). This creates a strong misalignment both in height and length (4) compared to the two advanced elements, with the suspicion that the steering arm is the lower one of the two. Although of poor resolution, the photos of the MCL40 confirm what was seen in the presentation renderings: a multilink suspension where the lower element extends backwards until it almost reaches the bottom. A risky choice The impression is that McLaren tried to make the most of a regulation that shortened the wheelbase of the cars from 3600 to 3400 mm, bringing the front and rear wheels 20 cm closer together. The front end is thus located closer to the center of the car and, although on the one hand this complicates the management of wheel turbulence, it offers the opportunity to make even more use of the suspension arms to guide the flows coming from the front. The world champions took advantage of this, extending the rear arm as much as possible, almost reaching the leading edge of the bottom. McLaren is a team that dares much more in this area, having been the first in 2024 to come up with an alternative steering position, rethinking it again for 2025. The Ferrari SF-26 has taken this particular solution from the world champion MCL39, but now the MCL40 changes the rules of the game again. That of the Woking team represents a bold solution from a dynamic point of view, having to find a way not to sacrifice the suspension movements too much, but above all from a design point of view. Designing a chassis suitable for creating the particular front suspension of the MCL40 must not have been easy, even more so in a year in which the FIA ​​has tightened crash tests. We will then need to evaluate the feedback from the drivers, in particular from Lando Norris, who last year struggled to have a clear perception of the front wheels. Front aerodynamics By the McLaren leaders’ own admission, the aerodynamic appearance of the MCL40 constitutes a very similar version to the one with which it will contest the Australian Grand Prix, unlike Ferrari, which will bring several updates in the coming weeks. The Papaya single-seater sports a front wing that is heavily loaded at the sides (5), seeking a precise setting of the flows which then interact with the suspension. On the outside of the endplate bulkheads you can see two additional flaps (6), also seen on other cars, with the aim of mitigating harmful turbulence from the wheels. Furthermore, like Red Bull, McLaren has chosen to keep the brake air intakes outside the carbon protective structure, with a very different design of the ducts compared to that of 2025 (7). The debut of the MCL40 also offers a first direct comparison with other top rivals. To date, Mercedes is the only one to have mounted the nose supports on the second profile of the wing, limiting the movement of the active aerodynamics in a straight line only to the last flap. The McLaren wing, on the other hand, is the one that most of all presents a spoon-shaped shape, loading heavily on the sides, which is counterbalanced by the Red Bull, which has focused on an almost rectilinear design of the main profile. All this outlines different aerodynamic interpretations by the top teams, since the front wing sets the entire structure of the flows that hit the car. The packaging of the new McLaren also appreciates the choices for the cooling system, an area in which the Woking team has been the point of reference in 2025. The air-scope (8), the air intake above the driver, maintains the oval layout of the MCL39, a sign of the placement of some radiators at the head of the power unit. The side outlets, however, become more flattened (9), giving up the P shape of the previous project. Instead, we will have to wait for further images to comment on the geometries of the bottom and sides, which, judging from the renderings, take up the concept of dipped bellies to channel the flows from the upper part of the bodywork towards the gearbox area. Although we have only seen the front, the MCL40 is striking for its innovation in various areas, a quality which in any case is not a guarantee of success. There are many variables at play and the competition has also shown interesting solutions, not to mention that it is impossible to judge the quality of a project by eye. However, regardless of its competitiveness, McLaren demonstrates once again why it became world champion, denoting creativity and design courage, even at the cost of making mistakes. There has been a lot of talk about the alleged superiority of the Mercedes power unit, but even if this is confirmed, it will not be easy for the official team to snatch the title from McLaren.