McLaren MCL39: the front brake disk hides new airflow designs | F1 Australian Grand Prix. The McLaren MCL39 features redesigned front corners to separate brake cooling from fresh airflow.

The McLaren is a car very sensitive to adjustments: the MCL39 single-seater offers the technical staff, led by Rob Marshall, several tuning options to achieve the maximum performance. During the Bahrain tests, the Woking team mechanics worked hard to hide the front bell, indicating that there was something new in the corner that needed to be kept hidden from prying eyes.

Confirmation came in the Melbourne pit lane: under the carbon bell of the papaya-colored car, there is a series of complex airflows that do not just serve to cool the braking system (disc and caliper), but also contribute to circulating fresh airflow, which should help “isolate” the wheel rim and tire from the heat spikes produced during braking.

McLaren has completely changed the airflow pattern in the gap between the two parts of the brake bells and has two different solutions to control the temperatures that should not radiate to the tires. The Australian track is not particularly demanding for the braking system, so the aerodynamics team, led by Peter Prodromou, also prepared a smaller than usual air intake to reduce drag and improve front-end efficiency.

The image by Motorsport F1 specialist Giorgio Piola also reveals another interesting detail: if you look at the green cover that closes the radiator inlet, it highlights a particularity of the chassis. To contain the air intake, the bodywork is slightly concave on the top. This choice reflects the team’s attention to reducing the resistance of the sidepods.

At the rear, the car features a rear wing with a medium-to-low downforce main profile, characterized by a fairly aggressive spoon-shaped design in the central portion. Two team wing versions were brought to Albert Park: the two-element higher downforce version, tested by Norris, and the single-element less resistant version, tested by Oscar Piastri.

It is possible that McLaren will decide, for qualifying and the race, on the version that best suits the increasing track grip, provided it does not rain. Therefore, the less resistant version is likely, unless the expected conditions change.