McLaren have scored more points than anyone else in the last three rounds. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are capitalising on the newly updated MCL38, which is regularly fighting victories. However, team principal Andrea Stella understands the importance of avoiding complacency. With this in mind, McLaren are planning to bring updates to the car as soon as possible.
The majority of teams, especially the front-runners, will bring upgrades at the next round in Spain. Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull have all confirmed that improvements are scheduled for the Barcelona circuit.
From a logistical standpoint, bringing updates to Spain is relatively easy for F1 teams – which are all based in Europe. Barcelona is a more ‘traditional’ circuit, with a combination of high and low-speed corners, which serves as a good benchmark for analysing new components.
Returning specifically to McLaren, the Spanish GP will mark the beginning of their new development philosophy. For the last twelve months, as seen in Miami, Andrea Stella’s team has focused on bringing large upgrade packages to the track.
This approach has been essential in allowing the team to progress so quickly. However, given the hyper-competitive battle at the front, waiting several months for updates could see the team fall behind.
The McLaren pit crew do a pit stop on Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38
McLaren will bring regular updates to the MCL38
Because of this, McLaren are adjusting their schedule. Andrea Stella has explained what this tactical shift consists of:
“For the coming races, we will have some upgrades. But they won’t be a single kind of big upgrade like we have seen over the last 12 months,” Motorsportweek quotes him as saying.
“This is more [like] some individual components where we found a little bit of performance, and rather than waiting to deploy everything together – once ready, we take it trackside.
“So I won’t say what – but we will see some new stuff coming over the few races.”
Unlike last year, or even the beginning of 2024, McLaren are capable of fighting for wins. Therefore, they do not need one major upgrade package to catapult them up the field.
Small but consistent improvements will be essential in their fight for the Constructors. With fine margins separating the MCL38 from the W15, RB20 and SF-24, these incremental gains could make the difference for Andrea Stella’s squad.
