McLaren in Damage Control Mode After Disastrous Season Opening Performance: “There Will Be Some..”

For the Woking crew, things already seem a little bleak. The entire Mclaren family and the fans had high expectations from the team to perform well as they approached the new season in 2023. MCL 60, debuted this season to commemorate 60 years since its foundation, has, however, experienced numerous project delays, and the aerodynamic development has also been significantly impeded. The result was that the team’s preseason and practice performances remained only mediocre. Nonetheless, following a number of blows, the papaya family appears to be in damage-control mode.

James Key, the technical director at McLaren, claims that the team’s operations have been made significantly more difficult by the technical revamp that was implemented in September 2022. For the squad, the 15-millimeter difference in bottom height has proven to be a party-stopper. Unfortunately, the papaya family has experienced it in a much worse manner.

The new team pairing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished the season opener in Bahrain without earning any points, which is worrying for the entire crew. But now, after endeavoring some brutal damages, the Italian team boss told the Italian version of Motorsports.com, that the MCL60’s first updates will be delivered to Jeddah first, with Australia falling into line. “ There will be some minor developments that will be brought to Jeddah and Australia already.”

On the talk for the first big updates, the Italian said, ” There are little news for the next two races. They won’t necessarily be very noticeable, but they should help us improve performance somewhere on the track. Then there will be the first big update that will arrive in Baku.”

READ MORE: Chin Up Team”: Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri Get Consolation From the Papaya Army Despite McLaren on the “Decline”

Lando Norris‘ genius, who scored 122 points for the squad last season, helped them finish in fourth place. Norris, on the other hand, wasn’t entirely pleased with MCL 36, and this year Britain prefers a more balanced vehicle to one that seeks out the highest level of performance.

Lando Norris expresses his views on how to make a better Mclaren vehicle

Lando claimed in a recent interview with motorsports.com that the MCL 36 didn’t suit his racing style. Hence, according to him, he didn’t feel at ease for around a third of the 2022 season. And in order to increase his performance and the team’s results Norris has put pressure on the squad to make the McL60 machine easier to drive in terms of balance rather than causing ultimate performance this season.

At the car MCL 60 launch he said, “There’s definitely been a little bit more of a push from my side from last year into this year to not just try to create the best car, or quickest car. I believe for us to start taking the biggest steps, we needed to try and change some more fundamental things – some things that I think as a team we’ve struggled with for the past three or four years that I have been part of McLaren.”

He added, “For my side, I just want to be able to figure those things out and unlock it and be able to not just have a car which is fast or whatever but have a car which is also better to drive in general and unlock a different balance.”

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Do you think an upgrade will help Mclaren fight for the top three places?