The team was open, ever since it first revealed its 2023 challenger, that the launch specification was not where it wanted to be, and that a new development path was needed.
The first fruits of that labour appeared at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as McLaren introduced a revised floor that had some very alternative treatments around the edges.
The fact that the McLaren updates appear visually not too different, but have a big impact on the way airflow is managed throughout the car, highlights a fascinating aspect about the current generation of ground effect machinery: the smallest details count for a lot.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, who comes with vast experience as an engineer, says that floor designs are critical to current car performance – but much of the effort to improve them involves tweaks that can’t be seen, or adjustments that are so tiny they are almost impossible to spot.
“With this generation of cars, a lot of what's contributing to the performance is what you don't see, it's under the car,” he explained.
“This is very different from the previous generation of cars where the geometry was prescribed as being flat. Now there's no prescription.
“So, if you look underneath, you'll see channels, which play quite a significant role, and fences which all play together.
“You have to get the basic concepts right, which is something we haven't done for the start to the season, but it's also starts to become a game of millimetres here and there.
“They make the difference for how stable vortices are when they travel. And also, it makes a difference for porpoising.
“The name of the game now, in terms of getting the flow right, is understanding what is the high-level concepts that you need to focus the development on. And then it's a real game of millimetres, with many, many iterations in many areas of the car and the floor by many people in the aerodynamic room.”
Source: Autosport