Photo: McLaren Racing/autoevolution
McLaren has just unveiled the MCL38, the team’s brand-new challenger for the upcoming 2024 FIA Formula 1 Championship. Much like its predecessor, the MCL38 is predominantly Papaya Orange, with heavy black (or anthracite) accents.
The MCL37, last year’s car, was one of the most surprising machines on the grid. It didn’t get off to a particularly good start in 2023, but then came alive roughly 10 races into the season, and on certain occasions it went on to out-perform both Mercedes and Ferrari. For this reason alone, McLaren will not be flying under the radar anymore, with everybody expecting them to score podiums right from the get-go.
If they manage to secure more points than last year (302), I’d personally call that a win, especially if their rivals will have improved too – usually, the McLarens were strong on tracks where Mercedes weren’t, and somewhat vice versa.
In terms of the driver pairing, we’re expecting more great things from Lando Norris in particular. Talent-wise, you could make the case for him being on par with the likes of Charles Leclerc. Piastri, meanwhile, has shown great promise too, and we expect him to score more than “just” 97 points, which was his total from last year.
Back to the MCL38, the new car looks like an evolution of the MCL37, and we’re 100% certain that these launch images don’t represent the final specification. We do see some sidepod trickery going on, while the floor, as seen here, is most certainly generic.
“Before we hit the track for competitive sessions, we have a lot of work to do, including putting the MCL38 through its paces during the Bahrain pre-season test,” said team principal Andrea Stella.
“The team has done a good job over the winter, and we are confident we can hit the ground running, but we know we have important tasks at hand before the season starts. There are a number of innovations on the car, but not all the areas we want to address have been completed for our launch-spec car. Those areas now become the focus of our in-season development, which is already in progress.”
It’s precisely those innovations that seem difficult to spot, but we should get a closer look once the MCL38 hits the track at Silverstone later today for a short run.
Afterwards, the team will head to pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit on February 21-23, before taking part in this season’s inaugural Grand Prix on March 2, also in Bahrain.
As you’ve probably realized by now (if you’ve been following our coverage), there’s only one car that’s yet to break cover, and that’s Red Bull’s contender for the 2024 season. It’s safe to assume that they’ll be showcasing nothing more than an updated livery on either last year’s car, or a generic design - seeing as how they’re F1’s most secretive team.
If they manage to secure more points than last year (302), I’d personally call that a win, especially if their rivals will have improved too – usually, the McLarens were strong on tracks where Mercedes weren’t, and somewhat vice versa.
In terms of the driver pairing, we’re expecting more great things from Lando Norris in particular. Talent-wise, you could make the case for him being on par with the likes of Charles Leclerc. Piastri, meanwhile, has shown great promise too, and we expect him to score more than “just” 97 points, which was his total from last year.
Back to the MCL38, the new car looks like an evolution of the MCL37, and we’re 100% certain that these launch images don’t represent the final specification. We do see some sidepod trickery going on, while the floor, as seen here, is most certainly generic.
“Before we hit the track for competitive sessions, we have a lot of work to do, including putting the MCL38 through its paces during the Bahrain pre-season test,” said team principal Andrea Stella.
“The team has done a good job over the winter, and we are confident we can hit the ground running, but we know we have important tasks at hand before the season starts. There are a number of innovations on the car, but not all the areas we want to address have been completed for our launch-spec car. Those areas now become the focus of our in-season development, which is already in progress.”
It’s precisely those innovations that seem difficult to spot, but we should get a closer look once the MCL38 hits the track at Silverstone later today for a short run.
Afterwards, the team will head to pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit on February 21-23, before taking part in this season’s inaugural Grand Prix on March 2, also in Bahrain.
As you’ve probably realized by now (if you’ve been following our coverage), there’s only one car that’s yet to break cover, and that’s Red Bull’s contender for the 2024 season. It’s safe to assume that they’ll be showcasing nothing more than an updated livery on either last year’s car, or a generic design - seeing as how they’re F1’s most secretive team.
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