F1 tech analysis | What’s behind McLaren’s supremacy over Ferrari in Japan

McLaren upgrades

Oscar Piastri had the upgraded MCL60 for the first time, which proved to be a big step forward already in Singapore through teammate Lando Norris. The Australian managed to get to the front row in qualifying despite this being his first visit to Suzuka. Norris started in P3. The Woking-based team drove a brilliant race and eventually got the first double podium of the season with their order swapping.

This result cannot be attributed only to the two drivers but also to the car. After the first updated version in Austria, the team understood which direction had to be taken to create a car with a lot of downforce and good efficiency. This update seems to have sorted out some of their problems. However, it is important to underline that this track suited their car very well because the MCL60 generates a lot of downforce, thus being quick in the fast corners and very good at tyre management, especially in a hot race like Sunday’s.

Lando Norris confirmed in the post-race interview that he’s hoping for more podiums in the next races: "Another amazing day for us, couldn't have asked for more. [...] My start was very good, I almost had Max. I tried, but the pace was extremely strong today. We're not close to Max, but we're not miles away either! [...] "We're pushing. The progress we made is outstanding. I'm proud of the team making steps forward. I'm sure tough times will come, but we're getting there." We expect them to be able to get P4 in the Constructors by the end of the year, seeing Aston Martin’s incredible decline (which is rumoured to have been hit by the TD018 and TD039). 

Ferrari and Mercedes in a fight

Ferrari had a solid race after their good performance in Singapore. The Maranello team, in fact, brought an entirely new floor to the Japanese Grand Prix, which was tested by Charles Leclerc in FP1 before both drivers ran it for the rest of the weekend. This new solution is characterised by new Venturi channels inlets: the two central elements that serve to direct the air coming from the front wheels now have a very similar shape, with a backward attachment to the upper edge of the floor, and they have a curvilinear shape that extends towards the front wing. 

The goal is certainly to obtain a good level of downforce and to make the car less sensitive to gusts of wind. For this reason, you can also find visible changes in the terminal section of the floor edge, right in front of the rear tyres: the surface now takes on a flatter shape, probably to better seal the flow underneath the car, to make the SF-23 as stable as possible on the rear, Ferrari's major limitation since the beginning of the year.

Furthermore, the shape of the diffuser has also been changed, with the aim of better overall extraction of the airflow. Unfortunately, the biggest and most significant changes are underneath the car, which is not normally possible to see. This upgrade package made the car more stable around the famous Japanese circuit, especially Leclerc, who suffered less than in the previous couple of races and managed to get P4.

On the other hand, Sainz struggled a little bit more. A late stop forced him to fight his way back with the Mercedes, who tried to replicate the “tactic” he used to win the race last time out in Singapore, as the Spanish driver confirmed to Express.com: “I was laughing in the car because I could see Lewis backing off in 130R to give the DRS to George [...] And I was like, I need to make sure I attack George into the chicane. If I don't throw him offline, it's going to be impossible to pass them. And I went very deep into the chicane, managed to get a bit of a switchback, and then I used the DRS, slipstream on everything to pass him. It was good fun. And yeah, it nearly cost me my own position with my own tricks." He eventually finished P6, allowing Ferrari to gain some points over Mercedes for P2 in the championship. 

Finally, Mercedes had a weekend of ups and downs. They had a new rear wing endplate, which followed the trend of Alpine, Aston Martin and McLaren of having a “vane” to generate a little vortex to slightly increase the local downforce (this is a micro-aerodynamics solution). Despite this minor update, the team struggled a lot on Friday and in qualifying before coming back to fight with Ferrari during the race.

Russell tried to make a one-stop strategy work but eventually finished behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Despite this, the Brit confirmed to ViaPlay that their main goal is P2 in the Constructors’: “Overtaking was difficult. You saw Piastri with much fresher tyres and a much faster car this weekend. He didn't fly by. It took him two laps to achieve it, and he only just achieved it, so it's easy in hindsight, but for me right now, the goal is to secure P2 for the team in the Constructors’." 

The fight is very much open because the balance between the two teams depends significantly on the track and conditions. It is one of the leading stories in F1 that will last until Abu Dhabi.

In conclusion, the weekend in Japan has re-established the balance already seen throughout the year, except for Singapore. McLaren can now fight for the podium regularly, and Ferrari and Mercedes are fighting for P2 in the Constructors’. Even though the Championship titles have been and will be assigned in the next races, there’s still a lot to play for in the last six rounds of the season.