The McLaren seen in September is a title contender, with three wins and three pole positions in as many Grands Prix. In just a few months, the Woking team has overturned the hierarchy against Red Bull, thanks to two development packages introduced in Miami and Zandvoort, each worth four-tenths of a second. The effectiveness of these updates is also due to the new wind tunnel, whose size allowed for a deeper exploration of a chronic weakness in the British cars.
Size matters
In October 2023, the brand new Woking wind tunnel will come into operation. Built to replace the previous one, it features cutting-edge data collection tools and sensors, but that’s not all. The new simulation chamber is larger than its predecessor, an important factor given that today’s F1 cars are among the longest and widest ever. Having ample space is crucial for effective development, as moving the scale model away from the tunnel’s perimeter reduces aerodynamic interaction between the walls and the airflow affecting the car.
“If a part of the car model is too close to the walls, you disturb the flow, and thus the data is incorrect,” explained Alan Stovold, Senior Manager of Research and Development for the Woking team, last October. The same article from McLaren also stated: “Our wind tunnel will allow us to simulate turns more accurately, mitigating the impact that the tunnel walls have on the external airflow around the body, replicating what the car experiences on the track.”
Specifically, the generous dimensions of the new wind tunnel improve the accuracy of simulations at wide steering angles and yaw angles (sideways movement relative to the airflow direction), conditions where the distances between the scale model and the walls decrease. McLaren benefits most in medium-low speed corners, especially on tracks that require higher ground clearance. The developments introduced throughout the year on the MCL38 optimize its aerodynamics at large yaw and steering angles, as the angle of airflow affecting the car and the direction of turbulence generated by the front wheels change.
The leap in Miami
Competitiveness in medium-slow corners has been a chronic issue for McLarens, even seen in cars before the ground effect regulations. Even in 2023, when updates from Baku and Austria brought the papaya cars back into podium contention, agility in slow corners remained a limitation. “The real area we need to focus on is performance at low speeds. If we improved there, we could compete for top positions everywhere,” Lando Norris commented just over a year ago, echoed by Andrea Stella during the 2023 Italian Grand Prix: “From GPS data, we saw we were losing a lot of time in the first two Variants. […] We made progress thanks to the new parts we brought to Monza, but there is still work to be done on straight-line speed and in slow corners.”
The situation did not improve at the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season, when McLaren found itself the fourth force in the Bahrain Grand Prix. “This track is too tight, slow, and twisty for our car,” Norris analyzed at the time, as reported by The Race. However, with the May updates, things finally began to change, as Andrea Stella noted during the Monaco weekend: “It seems that the car we brought to Miami performs better at low speeds, perhaps even beyond expectations. The picture of our competitiveness is starting to change, and slow corners are no longer a clear weakness.”
Confirmation came on track, where McLaren monopolized the front row at Monza, where the Variants had been so troublesome in 2023. The wins in the twisty streets of Baku and Singapore showed that the MCL38 no longer fears ninety-degree corners, while successes in Zandvoort and Budapest highlighted the regained stability in navigating longer corners, another weakness until the start of the season.
Decisive investment
The decision made in 2019 to invest in a modern, spacious wind tunnel is already proving profitable. Less than a year after it became operational, McLaren shows significant growth in the most championship-rewarding corners, particularly those that are longer and of medium speed. The new wind tunnel has allowed the British team to enhance development in a speed range that has remained critical for many years. It’s easy to understand the choice to present an incomplete car at the beginning of the season. Delaying the true aerodynamic form of the MCL38 until Miami allowed for refinement in the newly inaugurated wind tunnel just months before. This strategy has proven correct so far and could yield even greater rewards.
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