McLaren is already working on the next evolution of the MCL60 despite having only just debuted an upgrade that effectively amounted to a B-spec car from Austria.
Across the Austrian and British Grands Prix, McLaren introduced a suite of new parts that have transformed its season.
Having spent the opening part of the year languishing down the order, battling just for a points finish, it has become a serious podium contender in recent races.
Lando Norris finished second at both the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, while Oscar Piastri was second in the F1 Sprint in Spa-Francorchamps over the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
With those three performances coming at circuits with different characteristics, it’s a positive for the team.
Most importantly, however, is that not only has the car become quicker, but the team understands why, and that has encouraged it to continue pushing ahead with developments.
Buy tickets
“We are working on some evolution of these concepts for post-shutdown,” team boss Andrea Stella confirmed.
“We are definitely working on an evolution of this package, so another kind of round of bodywork and floor.
“We still have to sign this off, we have a few more days of work.
“If we are successful, then we will definitely attempt to bring it in one of the events soon after the shutdown.”
F1 is currently embarking on a mandatory two-week shutdown between now and the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of the month. The Italian Grand Prix a week later is the final event of the year in Europe.
The upgrade that’s set to come is not as significant as what has already arrived but is nonetheless significant.
“What we are working on is not only simple millimetres, it’s a bit of a conceptual evolution,” Stella explained.
“So there’s a degree of uncertainty like in all aerodynamic evolutions.
“Really, the evidence comes only when you test these kinds of things trackside because even if you have a good wind tunnel correlation, good CFD correlation, you’re always a little bit on the edge of knowledge.
“And I think this is the same for every team, so you can only say ‘yes’ once you tested trackside.”
Discussion about this post