After starting the year as third or even fourth-fastest team, McLaren’s rapid development has transformed their season. The MCL38 has been the fastest car for several months, mounting pressure on Red Bull to respond. Whilst the defending Champions struggle to find performance, several updates are in the pipeline at McLaren.
McLaren to introduce upgrades they previously kept in reserve
Despite their rapid climb up the field, McLaren have been extremely disciplined in their mid-season development.
Many teams, including direct rivals Red Bull and Ferrari, have suffered setbacks this season. Only McLaren have avoided the pitfalls that are so common with this generation of F1 cars.
For Red Bull, the upgrades brought to Hungary failed to yield significant performance – marking the beginning of a prolonged stagnant period.
A similar dilemma emerged for Ferrari after the Spanish GP, with the upgrades introduced in Barcelona making the SF-24 unpredictable and difficult to optimise with set-up.
No shortage of upgrades for Andrea Stella’s team
To avoid this fate, McLaren have shown huge restraint in their upgrade approach this season. Components are only brought to the track when the personnel in the Woking factory are certain they will deliver results.
Perhaps more significantly, the British team are careful to avoid following a doomed development direction – as several rivals have. At the Dutch GP, for example, the papaya squad debuted some minor floor modifications.
However, a completely new floor was ready to be brought to track. The team chose to keep it in reserve though, determining that the MCL38 was fast enough to win in Zandvoort without risking potentially counter-productive updates.
Partly because of this approach, McLaren have plenty of upgrades ready and waiting. As they work to secure both Championships and overturn Verstappen’s advantage, updates will arrive more now frequently.
This is not to suggest McLaren will change their approach entirely. After all, they still have enough margin over rials to stay as the fastest team by taking small steps forward – rather than implementing risky large-scale changes.
Nevertheless, there is reason for the team to be more aggressive and create further distance to Red Bull until the end of 2024.
This weekend’s American GP is a Sprint event, meaning there will be limited practice time for teams to analyse updates. On paper, this benefits Andrea Stella’s team – given their flawless development record in 2024.
Still, with Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes all capable of winning races, there are no certainties for any of the front-runners.
