The McLaren F1 team has revealed that they won’t introduce their first major upgrades to the MCL38 until May, which is approximately six or seven races into the ongoing 24-round season. This decision marks a strategic approach aimed at optimizing the timing of upgrades to maximize their impact on performance.
This year has witnessed a significantly stronger start for McLaren compared to the previous season. Twelve months ago, the team faced a challenging start, with both McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, struggling to secure any points. However, the deployment of major upgrades at the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix transformed the team’s fortunes. Subsequently, McLaren displayed improved performance throughout the remainder of the year, ultimately finishing as the ‘best of the rest’ behind the dominant trio of Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari.
With just two races completed in the 2024 season, McLaren finds itself in third place in the constructors’ standings. This early success can be attributed to Norris and Piastri consistently finishing in the points in both Bahrain and Jeddah. However, sustaining this advantage and closing the gap with front-runners Red Bull and Ferrari will depend on McLaren’s ability to match their rivals’ ongoing development pace.
According to team boss Andrea Stella, McLaren anticipates introducing minor upgrades for the upcoming races in Australia and possibly Japan. These enhancements are expected to deliver marginal improvements in performance, measured in milliseconds. Looking ahead, Stella outlined plans for a major upgrade by the sixth or seventh race, tentatively scheduled for May, around the time of the Miami Grand Prix or the subsequent race at Imola. While there’s a possibility of delays until the Monaco Grand Prix at the end of May, any upgrade at that point would still mark a significant advancement compared to the previous season.
Stella emphasized the importance of understanding the car’s characteristics and optimizing upgrades accordingly. He highlighted the team’s recent experimentation with different setup approaches during the Jeddah race, noting both positives and negatives. Despite the complexity of the optimization process, Stella remains confident in the team’s familiarity with the car, aside from minor differences between the two cars that will be reviewed and addressed.
However, McLaren faces stiff competition from Ferrari, which has shown considerable progress during the off-season. This progress has disrupted McLaren’s pursuit of podium finishes, a trend they enjoyed towards the end of the 2023 season. Additionally, McLaren continues to grapple with certain aspects inherited from the previous model, including a lack of top-line speed and suboptimal performance in low-speed corners.
Stella elaborated on the challenges faced by McLaren, particularly evident in track characteristics favoring Ferrari’s strengths. He highlighted the need for improvements in both top-line speed and cornering performance to remain competitive. Despite these challenges, Stella remains optimistic about McLaren’s potential to overcome them and maintain their upward trajectory in the ongoing Formula 1 season.
