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McLaren identifies major area for improvement: 'Is on our to-do list'
- GPblog.com
McLaren has come a long way, but the team has been able to compete with the big boys since the updates introduced in Austria and Britain. Still, there is plenty to improve on the MCL60, as Andrea Stella says McLaren's rear wing is not yet efficient enough.
MCL60 is not fast on the straights
On the straights at Spa-Francorchamps, it became painfully clear that the Woking-based formation still lacks top speed. There is still much progress to be made with the rear wing, although it remains to be seen whether that will happen in 2023. McLaren's focus seems to be entirely on 2024 after the summer break.
A more efficient rear wing not only provides more top speed but also better conduction of air and thus more downforce. To what extent could a new rear wing and an improved beam wing provide more downforce? "The underlying level of drag is more than that, it has to do with the overall configuration of the car and I think, for instance, Red Bull they have done a very good job of having a car that is low drag independently of the rear wing."
Stella continued by saying that, for now, McLaren thinks gains can be made mainly at the rear of the car: " If I take our case specifically here in Spa the main opportunity is actually to keep working on the rear wing and like I explained yesterday this is something that was in our to-do list but kind of we are not there yet so I think the main opportunity for us is on the rear wing but overall impact on drag comes actually from the entire car," he explained.