Yesterday at 10:10
McLaren dominated the race at Silverstone, which marked the halfway
point of the F1 season. The MCL39 proved to be a car with virtually
no weaknesses, but for its home race, the Woking-based team decided
to introduce extensive underbody developments to further
consolidate its technical advantage over its rivals. This
extensive work was visibly concentrated along the sidewall and the
expanding profile. Specifically, a large longitudinal slit was
extended, effectively creating a sort of long, knife-edge profile
that extends towards the rear. This micro-aerodynamic intervention
was actually accompanied by a thorough overhaul of the Venturi
ducts and the initial section of the diffuser. Effectively, McLaren
introduced an aerodynamic development on a track that can be
considered a sort of open-air wind tunnel, where the interaction
between aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics is at its most advanced.
The balance of the MCL39 is currently unrivalled by any of the
other cars, with its ability to manage tyre degradation recognised
by all the paddock technicians to be equally unmatched. New FIA
flexibility tests It's important to note at this point in the
season that the development of the MCL39 has been inconsistent
throughout the first 12 races. This means that the changes were
interrupted by developments usually aimed at adapting to the
characteristics of individual circuits, with the exception of
Imola, where the introduction of the new front wing was brought
forward in accordance with the new flexibility limits that would
only be introduced in Spain. This was to see the correlation
between simulation and real-world data directly on track. This was
followed by extensive development work in Canada, which primarily
involved the front suspension and both wings. In the first third
of the season, McLaren had focused development on the rear, but in
Canada the changes were primarily concentrated on the front. Two
weeks after the technical directive in Barcelona against flexible
wings, the British team actually introduced a new wing. The timing
suggests that to comply with the new flexibility tests, the team
did not have to radically change the design of the wing from the
start of the championship, instead investing resources in the
advanced version that arrived two weeks later. McLaren perfect
balance The basic setup remained unchanged, with a very similar
profile shape, but optimised in its cross-section to improve
aerodynamic performance for the car's various driving positions.
The team had already made a similar change in Imola, as previously
mentioned, which McLaren boss Andrea Stella defined as functional
for the following Monaco Grand Prix, having to increase the
steering angles on the Principality's hairpins. In Canada, a
different rear wing configuration was also adopted between the two
drivers. Oscar Piastri had in fact used a new medium-downforce
version, which differed from the version fitted to his teammate's
car at the start of the championship due to the different shape of
the central V, as well as the edges of the upper flap. In
developing the new wing, McLaren had set itself the goal of
improving its efficiency, making it versatile on a wider range of
circuits. In essence, the MCL39 had demonstrated since the
beginning of the season that it had a wide margin over its rivals,
therefore the evolutions introduced were effectively limited to
correcting minor weaknesses while trying not to upset an already
perfect balance.
