The Woking-based team have been left on their backs for much of 2022 after brake issues wrecked their last test and left them near the end of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
The team has recovered quite well, but admitted that getting these issues under control diverted resources from other key performance areas. Moreover, he had to work very hard not to lose too much ground against his main rival Alpine.
As the teams now begin to focus on their 2023 challengers, McLaren are aware that they cannot find themselves in the same situation next season. So he needs to make sure he has a much stronger platform to start the year.
So while F1’s technical regulations remain fairly stable, beyond changes on the ground, McLaren accepts that more drastic changes may need to be made than other teams.
Asked by Autosport if the current MCL36 concept will be kept or if the team will look for a more radical step, team boss Andreas Seidl said: “I think it’s a mix.
“With the technical regulations remaining pretty much the same, it’s pretty clear that it won’t be a total revolution.
“But, at the same time, recognizing that the teams in front are running more than a second faster, it is also clear that we are aiming for big milestones in terms of development.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
McLaren technical director James Key is confident that starting the year with a good car is vital to enjoying a successful season in F1. Trying to attack while you’re late consumes too many resources.
“I think the standards we’ve seen at the top three teams show what you need to be able to achieve,” he told McLaren’s website, reflecting on the upgrade philosophy.
“If you start the season with a competitive car, you can adapt your development plans from there and do less than what we have been doing, while being more focused on the areas you think will be most prolific.
“That’s where we want to be next year because we wouldn’t be able to maintain that level of aggressive development because it’s full. We can learn a lot from this year, and the team has done a great job. to achieve what they have.”
While the team is focused on a big milestone for 2023, it still plans to make a few more upgrades to its 2022 car before the end of the year.
Key added: “As far as the update packages we’ve made, it’s been an aggressive approach. For each stage of development, we’ve put a lot of work into them, and they last for five or six races, and each package then performed as expected, producing several tenths of performance at each stage, so we’re happy with that.
“We have another new package coming up, which we are currently working on, and then there will be some small packages to follow in the remaining races. I would say we brought a lot to the track and we’ve gotten what we’ve gotten out of it. wanted.”
The Woking-based team have been left on their backs for much of 2022 after brake issues wrecked their last test and left them near the end of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
The team has recovered quite well, but admitted that getting these issues under control diverted resources from other key performance areas. Moreover, he had to work very hard not to lose too much ground against his main rival Alpine.
As the teams now begin to focus on their 2023 challengers, McLaren are aware that they cannot find themselves in the same situation next season. So he needs to make sure he has a much stronger platform to start the year.
So while F1’s technical regulations remain fairly stable, beyond changes on the ground, McLaren accepts that more drastic changes may need to be made than other teams.
Asked by Autosport if the current MCL36 concept will be kept or if the team will look for a more radical step, team boss Andreas Seidl said: “I think it’s a mix.
“With the technical regulations remaining pretty much the same, it’s pretty clear that it won’t be a total revolution.
“But, at the same time, recognizing that the teams in front are running more than a second faster, it is also clear that we are aiming for big milestones in terms of development.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36, Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
McLaren technical director James Key is confident that starting the year with a good car is vital to enjoying a successful season in F1. Trying to attack while you’re late consumes too many resources.
“I think the standards we’ve seen at the top three teams show what you need to be able to achieve,” he told McLaren’s website, reflecting on the upgrade philosophy.
“If you start the season with a competitive car, you can adapt your development plans from there and do less than what we have been doing, while being more focused on the areas you think will be most prolific.
“That’s where we want to be next year because we wouldn’t be able to maintain that level of aggressive development because it’s full. We can learn a lot from this year, and the team has done a great job. to achieve what they have.”
While the team is focused on a big milestone for 2023, it still plans to make a few more upgrades to its 2022 car before the end of the year.
Key added: “As far as the update packages we’ve made, it’s been an aggressive approach. For each stage of development, we’ve put a lot of work into them, and they last for five or six races, and each package then performed as expected, producing several tenths of performance at each stage, so we’re happy with that.
“We have another new package coming up, which we are currently working on, and then there will be some small packages to follow in the remaining races. I would say we brought a lot to the track and we’ve gotten what we’ve gotten out of it. wanted.”