[AMUS] Waiting for Silverstone upgrade

Google translate -
The McLaren MCL60 behaves a bit like the Ferrari. Sometimes neat, sometimes underground. In contrast to Ferrari, the team can explain the extreme fluctuations.
Michael Smith 06/13/2023
Like last year, McLaren started the season badly. This time, however, it will take a little longer for the damage to be repaired. At least up to the B version in Silverstone. McLaren is currently at the top of the second half of the table with 17 points. Or as Lando Norris describes it: "We are a 6th place team."

That cannot be the claim of the second oldest team in Formula 1. McLaren noticed even before the season that the technical department had taken a wrong turn with their MCL60. The new car, in principle, retained the shortcomings of the old one, without any further development. Poor aerodynamic efficiency, a small working window, an unstable tail.

Too slow on Sunday
In Baku, McLaren brought a first major upgrade, which should be the basis for a new development direction. Team boss Andrea Stella had already warned at the debut of the facelift not to expect miracles immediately. Norris judges: "In terms of lap time, it brought a tenth at most. But the upgrade gives us more leeway in development."

So far, the McLaren is a grab bag. Almost like the Ferrari, just one level lower. In Melbourne, Baku and Monte Carlo, the papaya-yellow cars showed an attractive shape. They weren't anywhere in Jeddah or Miami. At Barcelona, ​​McLaren surprised everyone with both drivers moving up into Q3 and third on the grid for Norris. Oscar Piastri would have started close to his team-mate had it not been for a slide at Turn 10 that cost him around eight tenths.

Just one day later, the drivers did not recognize their McLaren. Both fell out of the points. Norris gave away his chance at the start when he crooked the front wing of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes. "Even without the incident, I wouldn't have made it into the top ten. We were just too slow," regretted Norris.

Five reasons for third place on the grid
The obvious question was how a car can change its face like that within 24 hours. Team Principal Stella explained how the McLaren was able to finish third on the grid without an upgrade. The Italian listed five factors: cool temperatures, no wind, fast corners, a flat surface and mistakes by the competition. In addition, fresh soft tires masked some of the car's deficits in qualifying. We also know that from Ferrari.

The lack of big bumps helped the engineers set the ride height where the car works best. With an asphalt temperature of 25 degrees, the McLaren benefited from the fact that it quickly set fire to its tires. Exactly that was his undoing on Sunday with ten grand more on the asphalt and with the wind picking up. "The only explanation for the poor speed in the race is that the tires degraded more," analyzed Piastri.

The McLaren generally handles fast corners better than slow ones. If the radius is not too long. A killer are long, medium-fast corners. "If the front wheels are turned and the car starts to roll, if the ground clearance increases a bit at lower speeds, then we have a problem. Then we lose too much downforce," explains Stella.

Upgrade already in the pipeline
Norris and Piastri sense this because it changes the balance of the car. This robs the drivers of their confidence and automatically affects tire wear. "If something gets out of hand, we'll slip down a few places. On Saturday we capitalized on the mistakes of the others. On Sunday they didn't make any more mistakes," Norris looked back at the Spanish GP. Piastri adds: "It's also difficult to follow others with our car. It became critical after a gap of two seconds."

The McLaren drivers still have to get through two races. Then the home game in Silverstone should be the first big step in development. Andrea Stella even speaks of a B version. "The car will change its appearance significantly." He is addressing the sidepods, which are the big differentiator today.