McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has revealed that the side’s latest upgrades will mean almost every aerodynamic part of its 2023 Formula 1 car will have been redesigned since launch.
Having admitted ahead of the season it had missed development targets with its MCL60 charger, McLaren expected to begin the year on the back foot and soon unveiled a major upgrade package in Azerbaijan.
Further developments are set to follow across the next two grands prix to complete the vast transformation its previously undeveloped car has undertaken.
Stella states that the team already recognised early on in the year that its current car required a thorough redesign, hence the delay until mid-season in completing its full transformation.
“Well, relatively soon, at the start of the season, we realised that the car needed a fundamental redesign so this redesign is actually interesting, I would say, pretty much every single aerodynamic part, that’s why the upgrades will be spread over the course of a few races,” the Italian chief explained.
“It will be decently noticeable. We had to redesign even some parts under the bodywork.
“That’s also why it took some time to be in condition to deliver these upgrades. So I would say pretty much the entire car.”
Oscar Piastri (AUS) McLaren MCL60. 18.06.2023. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 9, Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal, Canada, Race Day.
Expanding on what the team hopes to achieve with its latest alterations, Stella says the overall aim is to simply have a car that possesses more downforce.
The ex-Ferrari race engineer also predicts that the revised package will deliver a couple of tenths per lap improvement, as McLaren attempts to make headway on its winter ambition of possessing a top-four car.
“Yep, as for the upgrades, we haven’t tested them in the simulator yet, but they just pretty much deliver more downforce with similar characteristics,” he said.
“So actually, the key point is whether they will correlate trackside. But I think correlation so far has been good.
“I think with this generation of cars in general, correlation with development tools is good.
“So we expect a few tenths of a second of lap time improvement. And yeah, we will see.”
Despite progressing two cars through to Q3, McLaren ended the Canadian Grand Prix weekend pointless, leaving the team with only five points scored in the past five races.
The Woking-based outfit remain fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, however, but already a dauntingly large 27 points behind Alpine directly above in fourth position.
Aside from a 12-point haul in Australia, McLaren’s highest tally from a single event stands at the three points it scored in Monaco when both drivers finished at the tail-end of the top 10.
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