McLaren changing the F1 upgrade game – Formula One has become synonymous with cutting edge technology and innovation since the days of the English Garagistes who challenged the might of the European Auto giants in the 1950’s and 60’s. Road cars have benefitted from the fitting of seatbelts, lightweight chassis and engines, anti-lock braking and traction control – all of which found their roots in F1 technology advances.
Unlike many other motor racing series, the teams in Formula One teams each build new prototype race cars the start of every campaign. Further, in season car development has seen an upgrade race throughout the year with the cars finishing the campaign up to two seconds a lap quicker than they were at the start of the year.
This was best epitomised in the recent documentary from there 2009 campaign, when Brawn GP won six of the first seven races, but Red Bull quickly closed the gap with a number of in season car upgrades and at the end of the 17 race season the team from Milton Keynes had developed the quickest car on the grid.
Ground effect upgrades difficult to measure
Then came the new cost cap era of F1, where a number of the top teams could longer just spend eye watering sums of money on building and improving their car, making endless iterations of aerodynamic parts such as front and rear wings. Now the in season car upgrades are selectively chosen.
Time in the wind tunnel is now restricted too and allocated on a handicap basis with the biggest allowance for the bottom ten and the least for the one leading the championship. This again means the teams must only chose to test and develop the upgrades they believe will have an impact on lap time.
A further development in 2022 had an impact on in season car development, with the advent of the new ‘ground effect’ car designs. Now some 50% of the downforce is developed from the underside of the car, as the Venturi channels ‘suck the car down’ onto the track.
The complex new use of low pressure underneath the cars remains something of a ‘dark art’ as both drivers and teams have struggled to master their ‘ground effect’ new cars. Small changes in the aerodynamics or setup of a car can have unseen consequences as Ferrari found out to their misery last year.
Ferrari costly 2024 mistake
The Scuderia were just 24 points behind Red Bull racing after eight rounds of the season, but a subsequent upgrade halted the progress of the SF-24 in its tracks. Introduced in Canada, the upgrade was immediately off the mark, as the Ferrari drivers failed to make it into Q3.
At the following even in Spain it became apparent that exacerbated porpoising was being experienced by the drivers from the increased downforce fitted to the car. This meant the newly improved McLaren car enjoyed several races advantage over Ferrari, as the Italian struggled to bed in their upgraded downforce.
Whilst McLaren finally won the constructors’ title race, Ferrari finally bedded their upgrade in effectively and from the Singapore Grand Prix onwards they closed a 74 points gap to McLaren to just 14 points six race weekends later come the end of the year. The upgrade in Canada was to prove most costly for the Scuderia, who otherwise should have claimed their first F1 title since 2008.
With just a year remaining of the current car design regulations, the teams have little extra headroom to find in terms delivering incremental performance. McLaren decided to evolve their winning 2024 challenger, whilst Ferrari opted for revolution with the SF-25, critically switching the design of the crucial front end suspension.
McLaren’s many upgrades ‘discarded’
The reason for this is presumably because even with the 2026 big car design regulations looming, the Italians have been developing the aspects of their car which improve mechanical grip. This will form the basis for their aerodynamic package for next year and as such is not the waste of time some have reported.
Yet McLaren have demonstrated their evolution approach to the MCL39 was the right way to go and have been reticent to fit even the upgrades they have brought to the track. In Saudi Arabia the papaya liveried team tried a change to their diffuser, but subsequently elected to return to the original for qualifying and the race.
The team also ran a new front wing during the practice session in Imola, although it was a only to debut two race weekends later at the Spanish Grand Prix. Come the F1 weekend in the Styrian hills, McLaren introduced a new front wing as a test item only, it was intended to compliment tweaks to the front end suspension fairings.
Last time out in Silverstone, the Woking based team introduced an upgrade to the floor to improve the air flow underneath the car, redistribution the centre of pressure in an attempt to gain overall aerodynamic performance. But again the floor was not used on Saturday or Sunday.
McLaren know competitors can’t find a ‘silver bullet’
With such a big advantage in the constructors’ championship and both their drivers out of sight of the rest in the race for the drivers’ title, McLaren can rightly be cautious of not making the same mistake as did Ferrari last year. Yet the reasoning behind their tentative use of the upgrades developed back at base, may well be for entirely another purpose.
Team boss Andrea Stella confirmed during the weekend that his team never intended to use the new floor in the competitive sessions in Silverstone. “The plan was always going to be that the floor was a test floor to have an early read as to this new specification,” he said. “[Especially] because the next race is a sprint event, in which it is more difficult to introduce a new specification and make the proper comparisons.
“We are actually pretty pleased with what we have seen in free practice one, and all the indications seem to lead us to introduce this new floor for the coming events.”
With none of the teams in this final year of the current car design regulations able to find any more significant lap time, McLaren know their competitors are unlikely to find a silver bullet in terms of improved performance. It appears they are looking ahead to circuits where they have historically not been strong, to develop and test parts which will improve the MCL39 for those tracks in advance.
Woking improving correlation
Further, a number of teams included Red Bull Racing have struggled with the correlation from their simulators to what happens on track when they introduce a upgrade. By running these test components in the practice sessions, McLaren are further improving the relationship between what is theoretically expected and what actually happens when the upgrade is fitted.
The gains are now too small for the drivers to notice in the cockpit and as McLaren’s technical director (engineering) Neil Houldey explains. “It’s very difficult at the moment to actually test things because the numbers are so small for some of these parts in terms of lap time,” he said.
“You’re going on pressures on the car to really understand if they’re making a difference. So it’s never laptime anymore. It’s really about checking on the loads on the car and the pressures on the car to see how they’ve reacted and if that’s the same as in the [wind]tunnel.”
McLaren are engaged in a principled engineering discipline with their upgrades, some of which will never see the light of day. This kind of considered approach to in season car development is now the benchmark for the rest of the field if they are to avoid the travails of Ferrari in 2024.
Red Bull insider: This is the mood after Horner sacking
Goodbye to the Heartbeat – Red Bull Racing, the team that roared to Formula 1 dominance with the polished authority of a championship-winning juggernaut, is now trying to find its bearings after the rather unceremonious departure of its long-time team boss Christian Horner. This was no ordinary management reshuffle, no sterile email from HR. This was the removal of a cornerstone, the sudden loss of a man described not just as a figurehead, but as the very “heartbeat” of the team.
And it shows.
Journalist Matt Majendie, who had the misfortune or serendipity (depending on your sense of journalistic timing) to be embedded with Red Bull during this seismic moment, offered a first-hand glimpse into the team’s emotional temperature on The Inside Track podcast. After traveling with the team to Silverstone for a long-scheduled filming day, Majendie revealed a mood that was anything but celebratory. Less champagne and adrenaline, more lukewarm tea and awkward silences.
“Subdued,” he said. “Mourning.” And above all, “uncertain.”…..READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
