McLaren reveals, but not too much: This is what's new about the MCL39
McLaren
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
There is a link at the bottom of McLaren' s press release: See photos of the MCL39, downloadable here. And indeed, once you click, you are taken to a page where there are about five photos of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's new car. What is striking is that all the photos were taken at a significant distance.
Simple explanation: McLaren does not want to make the competition any wiser than it is. Overly detailed pictures mean that teams like Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes would already know far too much about how McLaren hopes to successfully defend their Constructors' title next season. Though that is not to say there is nothing for competitors to see either.
Key tweaks on the MCL39
No doubt the engineers of the rival teams have already magnified the available photos to the maximum, to see what has changed from last season's overall fastest F1 car in the field. Several things can be mentionned, but most obvious is the engine cover, which looks much more compact than its predecessor's.
The gulleys also seem to have all but disappeared. The latter affects the amount of drag and airflow. The superior part of the sidepods also seems to be of a different from their 2024 challenger. Otherwise, the car largely resembles last year's successfuk car. Also, why tinker too much with a concept that has proven its strength?
In the five photos that have been shared, the car can only be seen from the front, so what has happened at the rear is, for now, anybody's guess. It is also obviously unknown what McLaren has done to the floor. That is precisely something the competition is very keen to know. We will have to wait for a Norris or Piastri potential crash before photographers have a chance to knick a proper view of it.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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