news: Full extent of McLaren's Austrian upgrades revealed

A sizeable upgrade package has been revealed by McLaren as part of this weekend’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix.

Coy on exactly what the team would debut at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, exactly what the Woking squad will deploy has now been listed courtesy of an FIA document.

A total of five components have been introduced, including revised sidepod inlets, halo, floor, engine cover, and cooling louvres.

Updated component	Primary reason for update	Geometric differences compared to previous version	Brief description on how the update works
Rear Suspension	Performance -Local Load	Surfaces revised on the rear lower wishbone fairings have been subtly changed.	To improve local flow stability, the rear lower wishbone fairings have been subtly revised to maintain attached flow in all conditions. The regulatory requirements for such fairings are quite tight and deny elaborate designs, hence changes are minimal.

Updated component	Primary reason for update	Geometric differences compared to previous version	Brief description on how the update works
Front Wing	Performance -Flow Conditioning	Redesign of all Front Wing elements: mainplane, flap and endplate.	Part of the standard development cycle, the aim of this front wing update is to reduce further aero structure losses and their impact downstream, together with more flexibility on aero balance adjustment.
Floor Body	Performance -Flow Conditioning	Revision of front floor fences, floor edge, mid floor and diffuser sidewall. Sidepod undercut re-designed to suit.	Coming together with the front wing upgrade, the floor topology has been revised focusing on mainly losses management and load distribution, which translates into a car efficiency increase.

Updated component	Primary reason for update	Geometric differences compared to previous version	Brief description on how the update works
Sidepod Inlet	Performance -Flow Conditioning	New Sidepod Inlet Shape	In conjunction with the new Bodywork Shape, the Sidepod Inlet and Mirror Geometry has been heavily revised, to aid flow conditioning on Bodywork and Floor.
Halo	Performance -Flow Conditioning	New Halo Fairing and Furniture	In conjunction with the new Bodywork Shape, both Halo Fairing and Furniture have been updated to aid flow conditioning over the top of the Bodywork.
Floor Body	Performance -Local Load	Fully revised Floor	The new floor features updated Fences, Floor Edge as well as Diffuser shape, which in conjunction with the revised Bodywork Shape results in an increase in aerodynamic load.
Coke/Engine Cover	Performance -Flow Conditioning	Reshaped Sidepod and Engine Cover	The Engine Cover and Sidepod/Coke has been reshaped to improve flow conditioning to the floor, resulting in the aforementioned increase in load.
Cooling Louvres	Performance -Flow Conditioning	Updated Louvre Geometry	The new Bodywork shape requires a revised Shoulder Louvre Geometry featuring various steps, to enable adequate cooling for various ambient conditions.

Updated component	Primary reason for update	Geometric differences compared to previous version	Brief description on how the update works
Nose	Reliability	New chassis Pitot installation that combines a lower aerodynamic disturbance and an improved functionality in the operations and data analysis.	The Pitot Static sensor is a fundamental instrument for the work in wind tunnel and to accrue aerodynamic parameter on a land vehicle. On a race car, and in particular for a F1 model, that require accuracy in the data acquisition and reliability for any condition can be found during a race, we have chosen to improve the overall quality with a latest generation combination of components and instrumentation.

Updated component	Primary reason for update	Geometric differences compared to previous version	Brief description on how the update works
Rear Wing	Performance -Local Load	Compared to the previous assembly, the way in which the wing elements roll over into the endplate body has been changed.	The tip detail change gives an efficient increase in the local load that is generated by the upper rear wing assembly.
Beam Wing	Performance -Local Load	Compared to the previous assembly, the wing elements have been revised in chord and camber.	This assembly generates an intermediate level of beam wing loading compared to the other options available to suit this circuit’s efficiency requirements and is an efficiency improvement over the previous beam wing design at this downforce level.
Cooling Louvres	Circuit specific -Cooling Range	Compared to the previous engine cover louvre panels, the new design has an increase in exit area.	Due to the high cooling demands of this circuit due to the combination of high ambient temperatures and the altitude of the circuit above sea-level, the new louvre panels extend the maximum cooling range of the bodywork.

Updated component	Primary reason for update	Geometric differences compared to previous version	Brief description on how the update works
Floor Fences	Performance -Local Load	On the new floor carcass that was introduced on Alex’s car in Canada, we have updated the outer most fence. The upper trailing edge is further inboard and the leading edge fillet is larger.	This floor fence local load modification makes better use of the onset flow to generate a small increase in local load.
Front Corner	Performance -Local Load	The front brake duct vane is reprofiled around the tyre edge. The position of the lower section is also adjusted.	This front corner local load modification makes better use of the onset flow to generate a small increase in local load.

Full extent of McLaren’s Austrian upgrades revealed