McLaren debuts new F1 upgrade on Piastri's car

McLaren has brought its first major upgrade of the Formula 1 season to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as it admits its title charge has brought added “complications” to its development approach.

The Woking-based squad has arrived in Jeddah with two key upgrades that are aimed at delivering more performance for the high-speed circuit.

There is a reshaped diffuser that has been tweaked to help with flow conditioning in this area of the car as it hooks up the airflow between its exit and the beam wing and rear wing.  

As well as the diffuser tweak, there is an accompanying change to the rear brake duct winglet to better manipulate the flow field in this area of the car to help boost aerodynamic efficiency.

McLaren has elected to split the packages across both its cars, with Oscar Piastri running the new versions during Friday practice and Lando Norris sticking with the older specifications.

A decision will then be taken ahead of Saturday running about which configuration both cars will run for the remainder of the weekend.

A different approach

In the past, it was not unusual for McLaren to only bring upgrade packages for one car in a bid to fast-track improvements – as happened in Miami last year when Lando Norris took his revamped car to victory. 

But, with Piastri and Norris locked in what could be a tight fight for world championship glory this season, McLaren knows that it is going to have to rethink its approach, so it does not unfairly give a technical advantage to one of them.

This element is something that Piastri highlighted in Saudi Arabia as critical, especially with the gaps between himself and Norris being so close.

“I think this year the situation is very, very different,” he said. “Last year, especially at the beginning of the season, we were incredibly keen to get whatever performance we could onto the car as quickly as possible, and we needed to make up a points deficit in the constructors' championship especially. This year we're in a very different position.

“Obviously we already have a decent gap in the constructors' championship and both of us fighting for the drivers' championship. So I think it's expected that we'll both have an equal opportunity and the same car to be able to fight for the drivers' championship.”

McLaren technical director of performance Mark Temple acknowledged that things were not as straightforward as in the past, but it was something that the more senior management needed to sort out. 

“It is more complicated, but in a good way,” he said. “I suppose the challenge of how we deploy our upgrades is one for Andrea and Zak to worry about.

“But in terms of the approach of the factory, it is the same. The aim is to identify ways to make the car go faster and then see how we can deliver them to the track as quickly as possible.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has admitted that things are more difficult now and that consideration for sporting equity will have to be a factor in how it approaches things.

“We have an idea [of what to do] obviously because we’re working in the background, but it will also depend on how we are doing from a performance point of view,” he said.

"If the car keeps being such a strong car, then we might have to take a more considerate approach and make sure we’re not creating any imbalance in relation to the fairness with drivers.”

The other upgrades 

McLaren is not alone in bringing changes to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Red Bull has brought a revised engine cover with an enlarged central exit to help improve cooling ahead of what is expected to be a hot weekend.

It has also brought a reduced chord and camber lower and beam wing.

Amid the circuit-specific tweaks to wings, Sauber has also brought some genuine development parts, including a new floor body with a claimed increase in downforce. 

Low drag moves

A number of teams have brought lower drag versions of wings to better suit the demands of the long straights at the Jeddah circuit. 

Ferrari

Ferrari has the option of a new shorter chord version of its wing or a wing/beam wing combination that it has carried over from last year, which is even lower drag. 

Aston Martin

Aston Martin is running a less aggressive rear wing flap within the pre-existing assembly. 

Haas

Haas has also brought less aggressive cambers for both front and rear wings. 

Racing Bulls 

Racing Bulls has also reduced the camber of its front, rear and beam wings.