McLaren's technical concerns

McLaren introduced new developments to its MCL40 car during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but the team faced uncertainty about how these changes affected performance. The modifications, focused on sidepods and cooling systems, were meant to improve top speed, but drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri struggled with the new setup.

Team's evaluation challenges

Andrea Stella, McLaren's team director, said the team had doubts about the effectiveness of the new package introduced in Baku. The simultaneous installation of these parts on both cars made it hard to compare their performance with the older configuration, complicating the analysis of results.

Circuit-specific issues

The team's uncertainty was partly due to the nature of the circuits where the changes were tested. In Baku, long straights exposed weaknesses in the MCL40, while in Malaysia, the rough asphalt made it difficult to interpret data accurately. Stella noted that the Sepang circuit created data discrepancies, making it hard to evaluate aerodynamic improvements.

Singapore clarifies doubts

The Singapore Grand Prix helped McLaren determine that the performance issues were not due to the Baku package. Stella said the track in Singapore was more predictable than Malaysia, allowing the team to confirm that the difficulties were not caused by the new parts introduced in Baku.

Ongoing challenges

Despite some recent results, including Norris’s two victories this season, McLaren has struggled in recent races. Norris finished ninth in Malaysia and fourth in Singapore, while Piastri has not finished higher than fifth in the last four races. The team now knows the issues are not due to the Baku changes but must still improve performance on fast circuits.