McLaren has planned development on the MCL38 for Miami

The McLaren team – the third team in the field in F1 after the first five Grands Prix of the 2024 season – is preparing to introduce the first improvement package MCL38 at the Miami Grand Prix, the sixth round of the world championship scheduled from May 3. to 5.

McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella admitted before the start of the 2024 season that his team was behind schedule on its initial development plan for the MCL38, but the Italian confirmed at the weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix that the first improvements to the technically it would “finally” arrive in Florida for the sixth race of the year.

“With these improvements, we will try to improve tire damage. We will try to see if we can make a step forward. » Said Andrea Stella in Shanghai about future developments.

“But considering the progress we would need to make to be close to some of our competitors, I would say we need more than an update to help us in terms of tire improvements. »

“The next update will definitely be interesting from a tire point of view, especially in Miami if we have high temperatures as before. The track then becomes less at the back with more traction and low-speed corners and then acceleration. »

Although Andrea Stella did not want to go into the details of this future update, McLaren is expected to introduce a new roof on the MCL38 and possibly a new front wing for the Miami Grand Prix.

Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, the McLaren team is third in the world constructors’ championship with 96 points earned since the start of the year, 44 more than fourth-placed Mercedes.