This year’s McLaren has been completely transformed in three steps. Their team boss is hoping for a shift from the B car, and Lando Norris is waiting patiently, but they both warn that this won’t solve some problems that have been around for years.
McLaren has exceeded expectations in the 2023 racing season so far. The previous two awards painted a good picture of their situation, as they were able to achieve the results of qualifying for the third quarter with their drivers, but they were unable to score any points in both cases. The MCL60’s biggest weakness came with this: on the lap, the new, fast-acting tires cover up its shortcomings, which, when refueling, show up in a difficult way in the long run.
Team boss Andrea Stella has already confirmed in Canada that their B car will be assembled in three steps for the next three races, which will be essentially renewed externally in every centimeter, while the internal parts (and therefore the cooling and mechanical elements) will not be renewed and left untouched either.
According to Stella, the Red Bull Ring team could favor their racing machine, which particularly likes short but fast turns, but this is not the only reason for a better performance in Austria. “It has worked well for us on the Austrian track in the past. It has six or seven corners, four of which are fast, and we can compete in them.”
“This will be the first step in rolling out the improvements. This will be more important than how suitable the track is for our car. “This is an important achievement for us and could change our season, not only with what we do in Austria, but also with what we do in the upcoming races.”
“We will not focus on the nature of the track, but on the car itself. Even if we only have one free practice session, we can validate the package and reach a more competitive position.” said the Italian.
His rival, Lando Norris, seems more cautious. “Of course I’m looking forward to everything new. We’ve been working on it a lot and I think we’ve been very patient with it. In the meantime, we haven’t introduced a lot of things that have improved the lap times. We had a new surface in Baku, but it was about changing In philosophy, not in performance.”
“I think he will make progress, but how much progress is in question. I don’t want to get too excited, I never do! We’ve been working on it a lot and I’m excited to see what we can do.” The British said.
According to Stella, 50% of the total Package B will be published this weekend. the Cars for cars and sports You know they brought a new floor tray, side boxes and hood to Spielberg. Other developments were also delayed due to the long lead time. The group’s new wings arrive at Silverstone, while mechanical elements with revised suspension arrive at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Stella said of their full collection: “The things implemented during the three races will bring in a few tenths and will mean a noticeable increase in time.”
Lando Norris (Photo: XPB)But while his other rival, Oscar Piastri, was already talking about how they hope to excel from the midfield with the B car and get closer to the top four teams, Norris warned: It is difficult for them to solve everything, and it will become very difficult. The extra downforce won’t necessarily change their position either.
“We have been dealing with some problems for five years. Even if we can catch up with Red Bull in downforce values, it does not automatically mean that we will be as fast, because the Red Bull car has a different character in the corners.”
It is to explain.
Stella agrees with him too. “The situation at the moment is that our car behaves differently at the entrance to the corner than at the exit.” – he explained, at the same time, pointing out another key area in which improvement from version B is expected.
However, McLaren tends to do well in Austria. In the past five years, they have reached the podium twice there, while collecting a total of 78 points in competitions in Styria.
