McLaren in no hurry to press ‘the go button’ on upgrades

In the heart of McLaren’s impressive title fight with Red Bull, the Woking-based outfit is taking a measured approach to introducing significant upgrades for its MCL38. Team principal Andrea Stella has explained the rationale behind this cautious strategy.

Since introducing a major update package at the Miami Grand Prix back in June that substantially boosted its car’s performance, McLaren has brought fewer evolutions than its competitors.

Another minor update followed in Zandvoort, where Lando Norris put on a dominant display, but overall, McLaren has refrained from the rapid-fire developments that other teams have been trialing, often to their detriment.

The potential risks associated with implementing new components to hastily aren’t lost on Stella.

“We haven’t brought a significant upgrade since Miami,” Stella explained.

“The next relevant upgrade, not as big as Miami, was in Zandvoort, and it didn’t involve the floor – it was just a detail. It was some other areas of the car.”

• Read also: McLaren realizing time has come to ‘support’ Norris F1 title bid

This approach contrasts with the likes of Ferrari, whose aggressive updates backfired when a revised floor generated high-speed bouncing issues, severely impacting its SF-24’s performance.

Similarly, Red Bull suspects that recent changes have compromised the balance of their once-dominant machine, leading to inconsistent results.

Even though McLaren is working on a new floor, the team has chosen to hold off on introducing it until they are completely confident that it won’t cause unforeseen issues.

Stella emphasized the importance of patience in development.

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“There’s a reason why we haven’t brought some upgrades – because we see that, had we pressed the go button, we might have had some doubts when these parts were tested full-scale on the real car,” he added.

“So we are taking our time to convince ourself that the development is mature to be taken trackside.”

McLaren’s strategy of restraint reflects the lessons learned from watching competitors like Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Red Bull’s sister team, RB, who have all had to discard recent upgrades due to negative characteristics materializing post-introduction.

By holding back and ensuring every upgrade is fully understood before deployment, McLaren has not only been able to maintain its strong position in the running order, it has also allowed the team to capitalize on their competitors’ mistakes.

However, Stella is quick to dispel any notion that his team’s success at recent races signals a guaranteed advantage for the rest of the season.

Despite Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri locking out the front row at Monza, Stella insists that the team’s pace is not as dominant as it may appear at first glance.

“I think actually the grid order is very much to do with the drivers being able to nail the grip available, rather than the car being a dominant car,” he contended.

“If we look at the real lap times, rather than just simply looking at positions P1/P2, then we see that every driver of the fastest four teams was in condition to actually lock the first position on the grid.”

By meticulously ensuring that any new parts are fully matured before hitting the track, McLaren has steered clear of the turbulence that has disrupted other teams’ performances.

As Stella and the team move forward, their focus remains on consistency and caution, key factors in maintaining their strong position in the fight for championship glory.

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