Until the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
McLaren has been implementing various advancements for its Formula 1 car since the middle of last year, and it seems that all of them have had a positive impact on performance. This demonstrates that the team has a strong technical understanding of its car, both in its current state and in terms of what it needs to progress. Once again, McLaren brought a comprehensive package of developments to Miami last weekend, expediting them from their original target in Imola. The upgrade was installed in its entirety on Lando Norris’s car, while Oscar Piastri’s car received a portion of it. This was a bold move by McLaren, considering the limited time available to optimize the setup with the new parts. As I have mentioned before, when implementing developments, it is best to start at the front and work your way towards the rear. This approach maximizes the benefits obtained from the improvements. Unfortunately, once you finish, it’s time to start again, much like repainting the Sydney Harbour Bridge – when one can of paint runs out, you simply get another and continue.
Below, you will find McLaren’s description of the developments provided to the FIA, along with my own analysis of each section.
McLaren states that the completely redesigned front wing geometry leads to a significant improvement in flow control. This, combined with the updated front corner and front suspension, results in an overall increase in load.
Looking at the comparison of the front wings, several subtle changes can be observed. The leading edge highlight in blue appears to be flatter, bringing more of the span closer to the ground. Moving further outboard, it seems that the leading edge of the most forward element, highlighted with a green arrow, is slightly raised. The trailing edge of the new version is marked in papaya, while the older version is shown in papaya and magenta. Under the magenta section, there is a gurney flap, which teams typically use in this area when they struggle with front downforce, especially at low speeds. Interestingly, McLaren does not seem to require it on the new version. Additionally, there is a change in the nose profile where it meets the second front wing element, with the new version extending a bit further forward and overhanging the leading edge of that element.
All these changes are expected to enhance the airflow under the wing, thereby improving the wing’s performance and increasing the mass flow to the central section of the leading edge of the floor.
According to McLaren, the new front suspension geometry has been designed to complement the new front wing and enhance the improvement in flow conditions.
From an aerodynamic perspective, this can be seen as profile and location optimization. As the airflow comes off the trailing edge of the front wing, the suspension linkage works to realign that flow for the aerodynamic components downstream. The goal is to ensure that this optimization does not interfere with the performance of the front wing. Essentially, it involves manipulating the wake to improve its angle of attack for the sidepod and underfloor leading edge.
McLaren explains that the new front brake duct has been designed to suit the new front wing and enhance the improvement in flow conditions.
The front wheel fairing and front brake duct are responsible for capturing the flow displaced by the front tire and redirecting it into the void behind the tire. This helps improve the airflow to the leading edge of the sidepod and underfloor, reduces wheel turbulence, and potentially reduces drag. The design of the brake cooling duct itself is quite complex, with multiple ducts within ducts going in different directions. The understanding of the internal airflow within brake ducts has improved significantly, resulting in smaller inlet sizes compared to previous years.
McLaren states that the revised floor, in conjunction with the new sidepod inlet and bodywork, increases the overall load in all conditions.
It is challenging to visually identify all the changes that constitute a new underfloor. However, in conjunction with the changes to the sidepod inlet, McLaren has been able to open up the front corner of the sidepod undercut. These small changes contribute to a more robust airflow structure around the sidepod, making it less sensitive to turbulent airflow when in traffic or crosswinds. The floor’s front corner scavenging device, highlighted with a red ellipse, consists of two angled vanes that create vortices, similar to a Dyson vacuum cleaner. These vortices help extract airflow more efficiently from that area. The end of the leading edge splitters, indicated by a blue arrow, is not clearly visible in the old version, possibly due to the angle. Ensuring that the end of these splitters and the vortex generators work together optimally helps improve the consistency of airflow in this area of the underfloor. There also appears to be a small turn-up section at the rear edge of the floor, highlighted with a green ellipse. This section helps connect the floor to the inner tire squirt, which is the airflow displaced when the tire rotates onto the track surface. It plays a crucial role in diffuser performance and can also contribute to drag reduction.
According to McLaren, the revised sidepod inlet has been designed to complement the change in onset flow and, together with the bodywork, improves the flow towards the rear of the car.
The main objective behind most of these developments is to reduce and raise the sidepod inlet. Cooling airflow, highlighted with yellow arrows, is not useful for generating downforce. By increasing the mass airflow through the sidepod front corner undercut, overall downforce from the underfloor can be increased by creating a more effective and consistent vortex sealing system on the outer edge of the floor. This design change also reduces the impact of turbulence from the front wheel, particularly at high steering angles, and improves consistency when affected by traffic turbulence.
McLaren explains that the new bodywork and engine cover improve efficiency and flow conditioning in conjunction with the sidepod inlet.
The optimization of the engine cover and coke bottle area aligns with the changes made to the sidepod undercut. The goal is to improve the surface flow and maintain consistency throughout the car. This approach involves making incremental improvements throughout the car without drastically changing the aerodynamic philosophy.
McLaren states that with the revised bodywork shape, the cooling louvre range has been updated to suit the change in overall flow field.
The cooling exit louvre panels, highlighted with a red ellipse, appear to have been increased in size to match the reduced inlet size. Balancing the size of the inlet and the louvre panels is a challenging task. Keeping the inlet as small as possible ensures consistent performance across different speeds, but there is a limit to how small it can be. The louvre panel is not the only cooling area, as there are twin cannons highlighted with green arrows that exit from the rear of the engine cover. These adjustable cooling level exits increase the pressure drop across the radiator core, improving cooling efficiency. However, larger exits also increase drag, necessitating a compromise between cooling and aerodynamic performance.
McLaren explains that the rear suspension has been updated to suit the change in onset flow condition and improve load generation through the new rear brake duct geometry.
Similar to the front suspension, the rear suspension linkage has been reprofiled to optimize airflow into specific areas. By minimizing blockages caused by suspension members, the overall mass airflow can travel faster, resulting in increased downforce potential.
McLaren states that the new rear brake duct geometry benefits from an improvement in onset flow and results in an overall gain in load.
The turning vanes on the rear brake ducts play a critical role in braking stability, as they generate downforce onto the upright assembly and rear tire. Although the load is relatively small, it has an immediate impact without any lag during suspension movement, providing stability when the driver applies the brakes.
McLaren explains that a new offloaded beam wing has been designed to efficiently distribute loading between the beam wing and rear wing, tailored to the characteristics of the track.
As McLaren highlights, the beam wing is more of a circuit-specific requirement than part of the overall development package. It functions similarly to the rear wing but is less aggressive. The angle of the forward fixing to the crash structure, highlighted with a blue ellipse, appears to have been reduced slightly to suit the long straights in Miami. While it will take a few more races to determine if these developments are enough to consistently put McLaren on the podium, winning in Miami will undoubtedly provide the team with the motivation to continue pushing forward.