Transformations at McLaren will not soon have an effect

As unsuccessful as in 2023, McLaren has not started the season since 2017. After the first two races on behalf of the team, there is not a single point, and it is no wonder that measures to improve the situation were not long in coming.

However, in Woking they assure that the removal of James Key from the position of technical director cannot be seen as a hasty reaction to unsatisfactory results – it seems to be happening in the context of deeper transformations of the engineering and design department, which were planned for a long time.

But it seems that Key would not retire until recently, although he admitted that the difficulties at the start of the season were due to the technical regulations being amended too late, and this was a “serious blow” for the team.

The first technical updates of the car will not be presented until the fourth stage of the season in Baku, but now the team will be working on the modernization of the MCL60 without James Key. Again, it cannot be ruled out that the move from Andres Seidl to the Sauber Group was due, among other things, to the fact that the German specialist foresaw an unfavorable event development scenario, and then, at the right time, a tempting and promising offer.

As revealed in the official statement from McLaren, Andrea Stella, who replaced Seidl as team leader, has long been analyzing the performance of the technical department, and now a new structure is being created in the team, which will start early next week being added. year by David Sanchez, whose services were refused by Ferrari.

In theory, the team’s progress should be facilitated by the transfer of all aerodynamic research from Cologne, where McLaren has leased Toyota Motorsport infrastructure for a decade, to Woking. A new modern wind tunnel is being built on the territory of the team’s base, this most complex project is nearing completion, and the calibration process has already begun, but it will take several months before the planned machine creation and development work begins.

Not the best start to the season, however, was also accompanied by an unfortunate combination of circumstances. The team started the weekend in Saudi Arabia with more confidence than in Bahrain, and McLaren’s Australian debutant Oscar Piastri made it to the qualifying final for the first time. Unfortunately, he couldn’t avoid a hard contact with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine at the start, after which he had to go straight to the pits to replace the nose cone. In addition, fragments of the front wing of Piastri’s car also damaged the wing of Lando Norris’ MCL60.

Overall, the weekend in Saudi Arabia has shown that the McLaren car is capable of good pace, but clearly lacking speed on the straights. However, the delay is also due to the increased density of results this year. And if the team manages to find the right approach to modernizing the car, and the steps in this direction are effective, then it will be able to add noticeably.

“The gaps between the teams, with the exception of Red Bull, have narrowed. Therefore, if you manage to break through, you can claim good results and points, Stella quotes the championship’s official website. “It seems that Aston Martin found and implemented the right concept during the making of the car.

This confirms that this is possible, and also corresponds to McLaren’s basic principle: we have to work hard to improve the chassis. This work is already underway, we must continue to move in this direction and act as efficiently as possible.”

But the team’s prospects are not only directly related to the improvement of technology, but also to the work of the riders. If no one doubts the abilities of Lando Norris, it is not yet clear what results Piastri will be able to achieve. However, Stella believes that the young Australian is making rapid progress.

“I think we’ve seen signs of steady progress from session to session,” he stressed. – Already the first training in Jeddah, he was more competitive than in Bahrain. In the second he added more, and in the third he was almost on Lando’s level, then performed confidently in qualifying and in the race. There is steady change for the better, which is fully in line with our plans for the Oscars.”

The circuit in Melbourne’s Albert Park is similar to Jeddah in terms of the level of grip the tarmac offers and the type of cornering, and Stella believes McLaren will have a chance to fight for points there.

But this is in the short term and in the future, the team’s management expects serious structural changes to begin to pay off. After all, the team’s task is not just to stop the slide to the last lines of the constructors’ championship, but, on the contrary, to overtake and challenge the leaders. However, it seems that this is still a long way off.