As McLaren Motorsport pulled the covers off its new Formula 1 vehicle last month, it was quite apparent that the team had taken a bold and somewhat audacious approach to its design. The team had made it clear that they were not merely looking to evolve but to revolutionize their performance after their victorious 2024 season. This daring strategy appears to have paid dividends, as evidenced by the impressively vibrant performance of the MCL39 in testing. However, opinions on their strategy are not unanimously positive.
The technical director of Red Bull, Pierre Wache, recently suggested that McLaren’s design, particularly the front suspension, might be more of a gamble than a calculated risk. Speaking to The Race, Wache pointed out, “The suspension of the McLaren is very interesting – in terms of kinematics. And one aspect is the anti-dive. It is very high.“ He further noted that such a design choice could be risky given the increased load it would place on the suspension legs.
Rosario Giuliana of The Race has offered his insights into the changes made by McLaren. During the Bahrain test, McLaren demonstrated that they still have the best car on the grid, with the MCL39 showing remarkable race pace, outperforming rivals Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull. The team completed 381 laps without any significant issues, even testing two different rear wing configurations.
McLaren’s winter focus was clearly on creating a more radical version of its 2024 challenger. The engineering team led by Andrea Stella aimed to retain the strengths of the previous year’s vehicle while eliminating any weaknesses. The MCL38, McLaren’s vehicle for the Miami Grand Prix, had proven to be the fastest car in race conditions, providing drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris with a perfectly balanced ride regardless of layout and temperature conditions.
However, the MCL38 was not without its flaws. A notable weakness was its lack of straight-line speed at certain circuits. To compensate, the team would often resort to configurations with less downforce. This is perhaps why McLaren has shown no fear in making drastic changes to their design, particularly in the front suspension, which has caught the attention of Red Bull’s technical director.
McLaren’s new setup involves a complete repositioning of the two wishbones and steering arms, resulting in an aggressive anti-dive choice. Wache believes that such a layout could potentially expose the suspension components to greater structural forces than a standard suspension setup, leading to potential reliability issues and the need to fortify individual components, which could add weight.
But the extreme anti-dive is not the only unique feature of the car. The entire suspension design has been altered, both kinematically and aerodynamically. The rear suspension has been reshaped, and the entire rear end of the car has been aerodynamically updated to reduce drag and allow for greater downforce on the rear wing.
Since the introduction of the current ground effect cars in 2022, their behavior has proven increasingly unpredictable for engineers. Wind tunnel and computer simulations often fail to accurately reflect actual track performance. Many teams, including Red Bull, have found that performance-enhancing upgrades do not always translate to real-world success.
However, McLaren’s recent track record suggests they have often managed to deliver upgrades that not only meet but exceed expectations in terms of speed. Their confidence in being able to navigate the risk-reward spectrum in this rules era is not unfounded, but only time will tell whether their bold design choices pay off.