Last year, McLaren introduced big changes to its Formula 1 car during races in Austria and Singapore. These changes helped them a lot. Before that, they were struggling in the middle of the pack, but afterward, they could fight with top teams like Ferrari and Mercedes.
In the early races of 2024, McLaren did well and even moved ahead of Mercedes. But when they launched their new car, the MCL38, in February, they said they had more improvements planned. These improvements weren’t ready for the launch, though.
Now, McLaren has the first set of upgrades ready for the Miami Grand Prix. Team boss Stella says these upgrades won’t be as big as the ones from Austria and Singapore last year, but they should still make a difference. He couldn’t give exact details because they want to keep some things secret, but he says the upgrades should be noticeable if everything goes according to plan.
McLaren has been working to fix some weaknesses in their car, like problems with long, slow corners, tire wear, and how well the car moves through the air. These issues are still there in the 2024 car, but the Miami upgrades are the team’s first attempt at making them better.
Despite these challenges, McLaren has been surprising themselves with how well they’re doing in races. Lando Norris got second place in the Chinese Grand Prix, even though that track was supposed to be tough for McLaren. But in Suzuka, Japan, Norris and his teammate Oscar Piastri didn’t do as well as they hoped, especially considering they both did really well there just seven months ago.
