Before a significant event for the team, as it gets ready to test its 2024 car in the new wind tunnel, the squad is determined to make one last push for its current MCL60.
Team principal Andrea Stella states that there are additional enhancements to be made in order to improve upon recent podium finishes in Britain and Hungary. These improvements will be particularly important for high-speed tracks such as Monza and Las Vegas later this year.
“We are currently developing an advancement of these ideas for after the shutdown,” he stated. “There are additional modifications planned for the bodywork and floor.”
“We still need to approve this and there are a few more days of work remaining. However, if we succeed, we will certainly make an effort to introduce it at one of the upcoming events shortly after the shutdown.”
Despite the big step forward that McLaren made with its most recent upgrade, Stella is cautious about building too many expectations for the next step.
Even though the recent upgrade exceeded McLaren’s expectations, he is fully aware that the next one might not meet the desired outcome.
“He mentioned that we have a general understanding of the situation, but our current focus goes beyond mere millimeters. It involves a significant conceptual advancement,” he stated.
“There is a certain level of uncertainty when it comes to aerodynamic advancements. The true evidence can only be obtained through on-track testing, as even if there is a strong correlation between wind tunnel and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results, there is always a slight margin of uncertainty. This holds true for every team.”
As McLaren gets ready to test its initial 2024 prototype in the new wind tunnel at Woking, the last touches are being made to the 2023 car.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60
Photo by: Erik Junius
The team is still considering whether it will happen this week or immediately after its mandatory summer break, but it will take place before F1 resumes at Zandvoort later this month.
Stella claims that this occasion will signify the shift in progress towards the upcoming year, as the team will avoid transferring its 2023 challenger from the Toyota facility it has utilized in recent times.
“We will cease our efforts on the previous vehicle upon departing from the Toyota wind tunnel,” he stated. “We will refrain from testing the former car within the updated wind tunnel.”
The focus of our current car project involves several aspects that will be important for the upcoming year. However, the current model will not be tested in the new wind tunnel. Only the next year’s model will undergo testing in the new wind tunnel.
While some teams have talked about using ideas they get for their 2024 cars on this year’s challengers, Stella is sceptical about McLaren being able to do that.
He stated that it is difficult to make significant advancements on this year’s car that can be implemented on next year’s model due to the complex and interconnected nature of the components.
It is extremely challenging to develop a solution that can be implemented on next year’s car and then applied to the current year’s car.
“I doubt it would be feasible to create a test item as it would require someone to allocate time and resources to design and produce it, which is currently not possible due to our busy schedule for the upcoming year.”
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