Formula 1 News: McLaren’s Unexpected Surge in Performance Leaves Team Scratching Head
In a stunning turn of events, the Woking-based McLaren team has experienced a significant performance boost following a major upgrade to its MCL38 car, introduced at the Miami Grand Prix. The result was Lando Norris securing his maiden Formula 1 victory. Since then, Norris claimed second place at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, while teammate Oscar Piastri finished runner-up at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Although delighted with the upgrade’s success, the team is now struggling to understand why the gains are greater than anticipated. Team Principal Andrea Stella emphasizes the importance of determining the underlying reasons behind this unexpected performance surge.
“What we see and what we expected is just more downforce in all conditions. But the car, compared to what we expected, seems to be well-behaved also in low-speed – possibly slightly more than we anticipated based on our development tools, which is good news.”
However, Stella remains keen to get to the bottom of the issue, as the team needs precise information to further develop in the same direction. He attributes some of the unexpected improvement to increased driver confidence, enabling Norris and Piastri to push harder, but believes there are also technical aspects that need to be better understood.
Stella maintains that the car’s unexpected improvement in low-speed corners is not due to a factory/track correlation issue, as the actual downforce gain is on target. He suggests that the premium gained in terms of lap time seems to be greater than initially simulated.
For Formula 1 news, Formula 1 today, Formula 1 standings, and Formula 1 calendar updates, stay tuned with our ongoing coverage. As the season progresses, the quest for answers about McLaren’s unexpected surge in performance continues.
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