Photo: McLaren F1 Team
The 2023 Formula 1 season is inching ever closer, and the pre-season testing in Bahrain offered fans the first chance to see their favorite team’s new cars out on track. As that went on, many things became apparent in terms of both reliability and performance.
One of the most painful of those, at least for me as a McLaren fan, was seeing the team struggle yet again. This is not unexpected, as the regulations have not changed much. On top of that, statements made by team principal Andrea Stella hinted at yet another year lingering in the midfield shadows, as he said the team was not entirely happy with its 2023 contender.
Right off the bat, fans were able to see the Woking-based team struggle with some fairly scary issues. The production quality seems to have not been up to par, as the team had to reinforce certain parts to avoid failures.
Even if that could be ignored, there are other problems that the British racing outfit is facing, not unlike those from the beginning of last season. The car still does not meet expectations in terms of aerodynamic efficiency, with drag being the main issue.
As Formula 1 cars are extremely reliant on aero, there is a perfect balance that must be struck between generating downforce and avoiding drag. It is this equilibrium that is giving McLaren headaches, as it makes the car slow down the straights, where mountains of time can be lost.
To counteract this problem, an easy fix would be to adjust the aero toward less downforce and, in turn, less drag. But that brings with it a downside. If you opt for less downforce, the car becomes slower in the corners.
The driver has to brake earlier, go through the windy bits at a reduced pace, and accelerate later, also losing time. That is exactly what has been apparent from McLaren’s track performance, which means the team has utterly missed its development targets.
Lando Norris is not giddy about it either, expressing concern, "But the objective in terms of aerodynamic efficiency of the car, that's the one where we are still shy of what was our target."
This means it is extremely likely that a repeat of the 2022 season will happen. McLaren might be lingering outside of point-scoring positions, at least at the very beginning, before making somewhat of a comeback. But there is a silver lining to this, as McLaren is aware of what needs to be fixed.
This is not the first time McLaren finds itself on the back foot. When this sort of thing happened in the past, good development meant the team ended the season with a somewhat competitive car. As such, Andrea Stella kept an optimistic view of the future, stating that there are some upgrades McLaren expects to see a few weeks down the line.
According to the McLaren team principal, "There's a couple of components where we see that there's quite a bit of lap time sensitivity. I can't say what, and it will not necessarily look like a completely different car, but some of the changes seem to make a significant difference for aerodynamic efficiency."
Right off the bat, fans were able to see the Woking-based team struggle with some fairly scary issues. The production quality seems to have not been up to par, as the team had to reinforce certain parts to avoid failures.
Even if that could be ignored, there are other problems that the British racing outfit is facing, not unlike those from the beginning of last season. The car still does not meet expectations in terms of aerodynamic efficiency, with drag being the main issue.
As Formula 1 cars are extremely reliant on aero, there is a perfect balance that must be struck between generating downforce and avoiding drag. It is this equilibrium that is giving McLaren headaches, as it makes the car slow down the straights, where mountains of time can be lost.
To counteract this problem, an easy fix would be to adjust the aero toward less downforce and, in turn, less drag. But that brings with it a downside. If you opt for less downforce, the car becomes slower in the corners.
The driver has to brake earlier, go through the windy bits at a reduced pace, and accelerate later, also losing time. That is exactly what has been apparent from McLaren’s track performance, which means the team has utterly missed its development targets.
Lando Norris is not giddy about it either, expressing concern, "But the objective in terms of aerodynamic efficiency of the car, that's the one where we are still shy of what was our target."
This means it is extremely likely that a repeat of the 2022 season will happen. McLaren might be lingering outside of point-scoring positions, at least at the very beginning, before making somewhat of a comeback. But there is a silver lining to this, as McLaren is aware of what needs to be fixed.
This is not the first time McLaren finds itself on the back foot. When this sort of thing happened in the past, good development meant the team ended the season with a somewhat competitive car. As such, Andrea Stella kept an optimistic view of the future, stating that there are some upgrades McLaren expects to see a few weeks down the line.
According to the McLaren team principal, "There's a couple of components where we see that there's quite a bit of lap time sensitivity. I can't say what, and it will not necessarily look like a completely different car, but some of the changes seem to make a significant difference for aerodynamic efficiency."
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