McLaren reveals major reason that hindered MCL60s progress at Spa-Francorchamps
The McLaren Formula 1 team had an average outing at last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.
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McLaren (Credits: Autosport)
The McLaren F1 team had an average outing during the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri performed very well under wet conditions during the three-day event, but when it came to the main Grand Prix, the two MCL60s were seen struggling compared to the top teams.
Andrea Stella, the McLaren Team Principal, has recently shed light on why the papaya outfit struggled at Spa-Francorchamps, and according to him, the reason behind its lackluster performance was the high-downforce rear wing that the team ran during the event. While the rear wing proved potent under wet conditions, it was not an effective setup for the dry race.
While shedding light on the same, he told racingnews365.com, “In perfect hindsight, we could have tried to find some other solution to reduce the drag on the car. We know how much efficiency we would have shed, we would have removed off the car, but it could be that we wouldn’t have been able to achieve [the Sprint results] if we had made this choice.”
“Obviously for a dry race, you do want to race with less drag. I don’t think that there is a correlation between the fact that we were focused on the upgrades and the decisions that you make on set-up once we arrived at Spa. The real correlation is the fact that because we were busy working on other things, we didn’t have the time to work on low-drag rear wings,” he added.
McLaren is currently fifth in the Constructors standings
The McLaren F1 team, during the initial phase of the 2023 F1 campaign, was lingering toward the bottom end of the grid; however, since the British GP, the outfit showed a tremendous upturn in form, which has currently put them fifth in the Constructors standings. The ongoing summer break will now prove a little less stressful for Zak Brown and Co.
The next F1 Grand Prix is quite a few weeks away, and it is the common belief that McLaren will come up with continuous upgrades for the remaining part of the season. Ferrari is currently ahead of them in the standings, and the papaya outfit would look to make up as many places as possible after the summer break.
In Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the Woking-based team has got two gems on its hands. Moreover, when the duo returns after the summer break, it will be fascinating to see how much they will be able to push McLaren upward in the standings. The British outfit is on the right track, and several eyes will be on them at Zandvoort.
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Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)