During the second free practice session at the Silverstone Circuit, McLaren Racing chose to revert to the previous floor specification for its MCL39 car, after introducing a new floor upgrade in FP1. This unexpected move raised questions in the paddock about whether the aerodynamic update, considered a critical development step, had failed to deliver the expected performance. The contrast with Scuderia Ferrari’s strong showing—on a circuit theoretically well-suited to McLaren’s car characteristics—only fueled speculation that the new component might not be working as intended.
McLaren had debuted a revised floor design in Free Practice 1, targeting improvements in aerodynamic efficiency and ground effect performance—both essential elements in Formula 1 car development. However, the MCL39 appeared less competitive than expected during the session, which surprised many observers, especially as Ferrari looked particularly fast on the high-speed Silverstone layout. By the time Free Practice 2 began, McLaren had reinstalled the older floor, which gave further weight to the idea that the new solution had underperformed.
However, the team quickly stepped in to clarify the situation and firmly dismissed any notion of technical failure or aborted development. McLaren stated that the decision to run the new floor in FP1 and revert to the old version in FP2 was part of a pre-planned evaluation strategy. Thanks to their strong position in both the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships, the team from Woking can afford to dedicate an entire free practice session solely to data collection for development purposes—without the pressure of needing to immediately implement upgrades.
This deliberate and structured approach is designed to collect high-quality telemetry and real-world performance feedback. The data gathered at Silverstone will now be studied in depth over the coming weeks. Only once the correlation process is complete—and if the results align with simulation expectations—will the new floor be officially introduced into race conditions. Therefore, McLaren has confirmed that it will complete the British Grand Prix weekend using the older floor specification.
The team’s technical dominance in the current Formula 1 season gives McLaren the freedom to follow a cautious and methodical upgrade path. This approach is strongly endorsed by Team Principal Andrea Stella, whose philosophy emphasizes reducing the risk of missteps during development. This same strategy has already been used successfully for earlier updates this year, including suspension geometry changes and rear wing evolutions.
By prioritizing thorough validation over rushed implementation, McLaren aims to maintain consistency and reliability, ensuring that every new part delivers the expected gains before being permanently added to the car.
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