Despite the landmark shift to the ground-effect design regulations for 2022, the MCL36 of last season was still blighted by the same mid-corner handling unpredictability as its 2021 predecessor.
Lando Norris has since raised the same complaint with the current MCL60, while team boss Andrea Stella says the car is weakest in low-grip conditions and when drivers are off the throttle and brakes.
With these deficiencies surviving the major rule change, McLaren suspects its design problems stem from its methodologies and outgoing wind tunnel failing to recreate accurate real-world conditions.
When asked why McLaren suffers from repeat car handling shortfalls, Stella - who has also called out the car’s excessive drag - explained: “I have to say that it seems like the pattern hasn't changed.
“I know that we talked in some of the previous conversations that it's more a matter of aerodynamic efficiency. It's true because if you see the time we lose in the straight, we do lose because of drag.
“Overall, if you have more load without changing the characteristics, you would go quite a bit faster.
“But within these advantages of having overall more load and less drag, there's this pattern where potentially associated to the infrastructure that we’re improving, conditions that at the track are very challenging because you are in a curvature, you can't simulate in the wind tunnel properly.”
Construction of a new wind tunnel and simulator at Woking is nearing its anticipated June completion, with Stella previously saying that he can hear it being tested from his office.
Source: Autosport