How McLaren's significant F1 enhancement has performed in Baku

The team introduced substantial upgrades at Baku, including reworked sidepods, engine cover, floor, diffuser, rear suspension, and rear wing. Did these components perform as expected?

“Reflecting on qualifying, the team reports that everything is functioning as it should, but seeing ourselves eight tenths behind the leader is disheartening,” a frustrated Norris stated post-qualifying, adding: “However, our time losses are primarily on the straights.”

While McLaren's internal feedback on the upgrades is positive, team principal Andrea Stella noted that they were not anticipated to provide as much performance enhancement as the upgrades seen at the Hungaroring, which had a significant positive impact on the team’s results.

“The upgrades performed well,” Stella remarked. “Their effects were quite noticeable, particularly due to the altered shape of the sidepods and the new floor. Even though they may have been more apparent than the enhancements we brought to Hungary, their performance impact was somewhat less.”

Andrea Stella, McLaren

“Overall, we are satisfied with the data we've gathered and the performance impact we've observed.

“At a circuit like Azerbaijan, we anticipated it would be challenging for McLaren. One factor is our shortcomings in straight-line speed, and the other is the absence of medium- or high-speed corners.

“Consequently, we are continually contending in conditions where the car does not showcase its optimal attributes, and the upgrades haven’t fundamentally altered this, merely adding a bit of aerodynamic load across all scenarios.”

McLaren took additional steps to maximize the benefits of its upgrades, with the rear-left corner of Norris’ car covered in flow-vis paint until the conclusion of FP3. This late use of flow-vis, which helps engineers visualize the airflow over the car instead of relying solely on wind tunnel tests, is atypical.

“The reason for utilizing flow-vis even in [FP3] is that we were experimenting with various solutions during Free Practice 1 and 2, and in Free Practice 3, we settled on a solution to implement on both cars, wanting to conduct a final check to ensure everything was functioning as intended,” Stella elaborated. “And I’m pleased to report that it did.”