The McLaren is "brute" and "simple," and that's what makes it fast
F1. For James Key, the technical director of McLaren, the change in the aerodynamics regulations seems to have been well understood by the team. The car appears to be performing well thanks to simplified aerodynamics.
After the Barcelona tests, and a few days before those in Bahrain, James Key, the technical director of McLaren, shared his thoughts on the new car. After the regulatory revolution this winter, the teams had to double their efforts to create a new aerodynamic concept, notably with the return of ground-effect. For the Woking team, the MCL36 seems to be a success and would suit Daniel Ricciardo's driving style better, as he struggled significantly last year despite his victory at Monza.
« I would say that it may be an easier car to drive. I think that by looking at how we generate downforce, we have massive brute force: a large front wing and a solid floor, which is very efficient. » praised James Key. « Above all this, it is much less complex. I think that when you have brute aerodynamic downforce, rather than the refined aerodynamics we had last year, you are working on a more stable foundation because you are using large surfaces instead of fine details. »
« This helped us compared to last year. We took a step in the right direction but there is still a lot of work to do. » James Key tempered. « We could see strengths and weaknesses starting to emerge. We are carefully looking at how to overcome these weaknesses, especially the sensitivity to the ride height, but it's a problem for all teams. Both drivers had a good feeling with the car, they didn't report any major issues. We'll have to see how it goes in Bahrain on a different track and in the future.
McLaren has rather succeeded in its tests in Barcelona with 367 laps completed by its two drivers (the third highest total, only behind Ferrari and Mercedes) and good lap times. Even though caution is still required, the Woking team seems to be following in the footsteps of its previous season, which ended with a fourth-place finish in the constructors' championship.
