F1 – F1|McLaren, update in search of technical grip and efficiency

McLaren can be considered completely satisfied with the beginning of the season 2024, with two podiums and a sprint pole position in the first 5 races of the season. On the other hand, the goal of the team Of To work it was to maintain the direction related to the direction of development made last season that turned the results of the previous campaign, giving the papaya team a chance to fight for the podium and sometimes compete. Red Bull victory.

During the final event of the world championship, Big prize from Chinese a Shanghai, the team Italian captain Andrea Stella has managed to establish itself as the second team on the track, making full use of the car package to finish with Lando Norris in front of the Ferraribehind the isolated and inaccessible RB20 Of Max Verstappen. Happiness for the results obtained is greater because McLaren they had previously placed their “hands” on the eastern stage, considering that the route was certainly not fertile for their vehicle.

The desire for improvement was postponed Miami e Imola, where important updates are planned to have the limitations of one black-orange seat and at the same time strengthen its current strength. Strange is fine Norris had to finish the bet GP A good 35 seconds behind the red, only to end up on the second step of the podium and actually ahead of those two. SF-24. So let’s see what the places are McLaren it must intervene by predicting which elements will be affected by development.

F1, McLaren to increase mechanical grip and reduce drag

Let’s start by understanding what the company’s strong points are MCL38. Of course among these we find great knowledge in fast corners, especially those where one is needed input of the steering wheel. The most striking examples are the first sectors of Jeddah e Suzukadove Platebut most of all Lando they managed to close the section recordsometimes even better than those of Red Bull. More than that of McLaren It doesn’t seem to have any problem getting the lids up to temperature.

This is the characteristic case of run run a Shanghaidove Norris gave second place 1.3s Lewis Hamilton thanks to the sole advantage of having the tires back in the correct “operating window”, one lap before everyone else. On the other hand, the English single seat seems to suffer in long leaning angles, where the driver must maintain a high steering angle for a long time. Even wrinkles slowly create a headache, a sign of the fact that grip The technician needs to improve. However, the real concern is what is known EOS (End of Straight Speed), ie the maximum speed reached at the end of the straight line. If we think back to the Saudi race, in fact, Plate he used about half action try to pass Hamilton.

The Australian could not pass as, even a DRS obviously, the car crashed at a very low speed. This high speed problem is more accentuated on low load cables, a sign that aerodynamic efficiency is lacking. So what to expect at the next appointment? You will definitely prefer the search grip, especially at low speeds and in tight bends, which generally leads to a review of the suspension structure. The lower the speed, the less the load generated and therefore the car depends more on the suspension to ensure the maximum grip possible.

So it’s reasonable to expect some innovation in the area of ​​the front suspension. As for the efficiency of the direct line, this is the aspect that is the most difficult to work on: eliminating the aerodynamic resistance without affecting the load levels produced is, in fact, a very difficult task that generally involves elements that are not known for the direct effect of air. Therefore it would be interesting to place the magnifying glass in the lower and lower areas of the car, rather than near the spoilers or the body of the car.

To indicate how challenging it is to work effectively, it is the fact that this problem is shared among these current ones. MCL38 and his parent la MCL60. In short, grip machinery and efficiency, these are the important things they will work on in Woking. many attentive will know that the American selection of Miami will present the format again run run, reducing the available minutes to work on cars and confirm updates to only 60. About that Andrea Stella proved an interesting factor without a doubt.

Bringing a change package means being convinced that it works even before race race and reduce free exercise. The main problem remains to meet the requirements of the budget limit: “The main challenge is: bring sprint updates or not? (…) Because you only have one free practice session. But then there is another challenge, which is the limited budget. You can’t make it happen once you have enough to produce, because you run the risk of running out of budget. So you should be sure that this will be a good update. Then press the green button and spend money.”

Il Big prize Of Miami looks very interesting McLaren e Mercedes will bring creativity to the track, although with very different goals: on the one hand there is the desire to turn the season as it is to Mercedesvictim of himself and W15 who cannot express himself at his best. While on the other hand we find a British team that is interested in surpassing the performance of Ferrarilooking to provide some continuity to the company’s recent encouraging performances MCL38. We just have to wait more than a week to know the news.

Author: Andrea Mauri – howf1works

Photo: McLaren F1 Team