McLaren boss blames low-drag circuits for difficulty in overtaking in the 2023 season
Ground effect returned to F1 50 years after it's debut in the 1970s.
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Andrea Stella (Credits:F1)
The 2022 guidelines have had the teams increase the ground effect on their cars and limit upper-body aerodynamics. The ground effect works on the principle of creating a low-pressure area under the car, which provides it with more downforce. This was introduced to increase overtaking, but according to McLaren boss Andrea Stella, it didn’t work all the way.
Stella said that they had observed ease in overtakes in circuits that were known for their difficulty for the same, like Hungary. By getting close to the car ahead on corners, then using DRS on the way out, the new rules have made overtaking easier.
“Tracks where it was difficult to overtake before, like Hungary, we can now get much closer to the car in front, especially in the corners, and on the way out, it’s easier when we get into the straight and have DRS,” Stella told motorsport.
Stella also mentioned that while the new rules have improved some aspects of racing, overtaking circuits with long straights, like Spa or Monza, has become much more difficult. In these circuits, the use of slipstreaming is an important factor in overtaking, but the new aerodynamic upgrades have rendered the effect of slipstreaming to be negligible.
“If you look at circuits like Spa and Monza, where you need a lot of slipstream to overtake properly, then we see that the effect of the slipstream is not that great. Overtaking has therefore become more difficult,” Stella added.
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McLaren to not bring more upgrades to MCL60
McLaren’s upgrades have probably been the most talked about this season. They went from having just 27 points in the constructor standings after the Austrian GP to 103 after the Belgium GP. Just before the summer break, McLaren boss Andrea Stella gave major updates regarding further development of their car.
Stella revealed that McLaren will be switching from the Toyota wind tunnel they have been using until now to one they have made independently. Although, Stella made it clear that they will only use their new car (2024) in the new wind tunnel. For the current model, he said that they will keep it running as it is with some minor upgrades.
“We will leave working on the old car as we leave the Toyota wind tunnel, we will not run the old car in the new wind tunnel. (…) What we are working on on this year’s car, a lot of things are relevant for next year but this year’s model will not be put in the new wind tunnel,” said Stella.
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Soham Jain
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