McLaren has little hope of claiming the drivers’ title, with Lando Norris trailing leader Max Verstappen by 62 points. However, the Woking team is fully focused on defending its lead in the Constructors’ Championship, where it holds a 36-point advantage over Ferrari.
The MCL38 is considered the “universal” car in the paddock due to its extraordinary ability to adapt to a wide variety of track characteristics. In Las Vegas, the papaya cars will adopt a low-drag setup, knowing that the mini-DRS rear wing, which caused much controversy during the Azerbaijan GP won by Oscar Piastri against Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, will no longer be seen.
As a reminder, the FIA had initially deemed the solution legal after it passed static inspections. However, it did not account for the deformation of the leading edge of the movable flap, which only occurred near the lateral attachments. At top speed on straights, the element deformed, creating a gap with the main profile, reducing drag, and allowing for higher top speeds.
The technical stewards, led by Nikolas Tombazis, subsequently “advised” McLaren not to use the contested solution again to prevent further controversies. As a result, in Las Vegas, a similar design will be used but with reduced programmed deformations.
The change to the front wing is minimal as well. For the long straights of the Nevada street circuit, McLaren has opted for a version with a trimmed flap in the central section. This design was tested during FP1 at Monza, although during qualifying, the drivers chose to use an element with greater chord to seek more downforce for the chicanes.
Compared to the Monza version, Giorgio Piola has identified only a minor difference: the curvature of the last flap near the endplate has been slightly adjusted, and the small metal support that previously connected the last two elements at that point has been removed. In the “channel” feeding the outwash of airflow, small details can make a big difference.
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