The Woking-based squad has made huge gains with its MCL60 this season to emerge as one of the most consistent challengers to Red Bull over the second half of the campaign.
However, a more challenging time at last weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix has highlighted that its rivals seem better prepared in low downforce configuration.
And, with the calendar featuring a growing number of circuits where such high-speed demands are required, it means McLaren cannot afford to ignore this development avenue.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has admitted all the outfit’s data pointed to his team losing out much more in low downforce trim than the opposition.
“We seem to lose competitiveness when we need to run the car at this drag level,” he said.
“We do see, when it comes to our own observations, the fact that the aerodynamics kind of tends to switch off.
“I'm sure that's the same for everyone, but it's more about how large this phenomenon is – and it would look like it is slightly higher for our car than for some of our competitors.”
Source: Autosport