The four key changes that have transformed the McLaren

When McLaren unveiled its MCL60 before the Formula 1 pre-season tests, it gave a very negative assessment of what it had created.

The team principal of the team, Andrea Stella, openly declared that the team was not entirely satisfied with what the launch car is (french), because the team knew that they had missed some design ideas during the development of the single-seater. Some development ideas in different parts of the car were taken too late. (french)

These ideas emerged during what has been an impressive comeback for the team, which achieved a double podium at the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend. Prior to Suzuka, and following a major update in Singapore, here are the areas of development that have allowed McLaren to return to the forefront.

Front wing

McLaren has joined other teams in the search for a front wing design that produces as much downforce as possible. This objective has been achieved through better management of the gaps between the flaps and the endplate, as well as the shape of each aerodynamic profile across the entire span.

Andrea Stella explains that current cars are not able to produce as much outwash as the previous generation, but it is still very useful to do what we can. « Even though this generation of cars inherently reduces water splashes compared to the previous generation, all teams are trying to pursue this goal, he said. « Every little part that works gives you better characteristics, especially in medium and low-speed turns. »

Wider sidepods with slides

While McLaren had already adopted Red Bull’s downwash solution for its sidepods in 2022, it took things much further this year.

Two generic concepts have been pursued in this area of the car: making the sidepods as wide as possible, and maximizing what is now known as the “water slide”.

The team principal of McLaren explains the difficulty of developing these parts. « The width of the car is very noticeable. We are trying to create a clear path to enhance the airflow. It is not the simplest thing to do. »

The objective is twofold: the wide sidepods and the aggressive undercut help interact with the ground to increase downforce, while the water slides help channel the air to improve the diffuser’s performance.

To enhance the aggressiveness of the bodywork in this area, McLaren has modified the internal cooling system of the sidepods (including the radiator and piping) as part of the upgrade package for the Austrian GP.

The return of the ground effect

The key to the success of ground effect cars lies in the design of the floor, which provides a great amount of downforce when well-designed. This is the only aspect of the cars on which teams are very secretive. And it’s not surprising, as it requires a lot of work, as Andrea Stella explains. « The detailed work underneath the car is one of the most sophisticated and, from a technical standpoint, one of the most fascinating I have ever seen. »

To further improve ground performance since the Singapore GP, McLaren has reintroduced the endplate, something they had initially tried at the beginning of the 2022 season before abandoning it. « This completes the circle a bit because, in 2022, our shakedown car had this type of endplate, which was adopted by some competitors », Stella said. « We then realized that we needed to remove it for a certain period of time, so we placed the undertray on the car. Then, it became clear that other cars had already removed the undertray at the beginning of the season, so we changed as well. This part of the car is very high-performing. »

The regulatory changes implemented by the FIA for this 2023 season have forced teams to rethink how they approached several aspects of their floor design, one of which was the endplate and the “ice skate” solution they had developed in this regard in 2022.

The effectiveness of the beam wing

The beam wing is a small wing located beneath the rear wing, it is designed to push “dirty air” upwards and over the car behind it, making the cars easier to follow and overtake during a race.

Red Bull, having understood that the efficiency of the RB19’s DRS is due to the balance of drag between the rear wing and the beam wing, McLaren has also started to explore this direction. Andrea Stella explains that since the Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren has begun to reduce the drag of its beam wing in hopes of enhancing the DRS effect. « We are striving to create the right beam wing arrangements in order to achieve the right level of drag without having to reduce the size of the upper wing too much, » he said. « The beam wing in Japan is relatively unloaded compared to some of the pieces we had at the beginning of the season. »

The concept changes on the McLaren are fascinating and have given rivals hope that they too could change. But what is perhaps more interesting is that they are also proof that if there were fears that the current generation of cars wouldn’t offer many opportunities for design innovation, those fears have been dispelled.

Andrea Stella was surprised to see that there was so much room for individual ideas. « I think that everyone was surprised by the extent of the development possibilities offered by this generation of cars. But I expect that this will continue in the future. »