McLaren’s MCL40 upgrades helped the reigning world champions unlock their car’s potential at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with a revised floor and rear-corner aerodynamic package producing more stable rear downforce across a wider range of conditions. Originally expected after the summer break, the new components arrived early in Budapest and contributed to an unexpected return to the top step of the Formula 1 podium.
Few expected McLaren to win when Formula 1 arrived in Hungary. However, the competitive order has repeatedly shifted during the current championship as track characteristics, preparation and weekend execution have altered the balance between the leading teams. Extracting the maximum from a car at each circuit depends not only on its underlying performance but also on choosing the correct set-up and completing the necessary development work in advance.
The ATR advantage McLaren can now exploit
McLaren had failed to optimise the MCL40’s set-up fully at several recent races, while its development programme had also fallen one step behind those of its rivals. The team’s development rate—the frequency at which it could introduce effective new components—had become a weakness for clearly identifiable reasons.
The Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions classification was updated on 30 June to reflect the current Constructors’ Championship order. Until then, McLaren had been the team most heavily restricted by the regulations after winning the 2025 world title. The situation changed when the Woking operation gained access to additional wind-tunnel time and a larger allowance of geometries that could be tested.
This adjustment gave McLaren an opportunity to accelerate its aerodynamic programme. The speed with which a Formula 1 team can design, test and manufacture upgrades is essential, as is controlling the cost of that entire process. The way McLaren subsequently compressed its development timeline became an important part of its Hungarian Grand Prix breakthrough.
The latest components had initially been scheduled for the second half of the championship, with their debut provisionally planned for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort after the summer break. However, McLaren worked intensively at its British base to bring the programme forward and unexpectedly introduced the package at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Most of the changes were designed to improve the MCL40’s performance directly, while the remaining elements adapted its cooling configuration to the demands of the Hungaroring. The scale and timing of the package also caught Mercedes by surprise in Budapest.
How McLaren’s new MCL40 floor stabilises rear downforce
As the MCL40 had demonstrated at several circuits, it already possessed strong downforce and could generate considerable performance through high-speed corners. However, that aerodynamic load was not available consistently in every dynamic condition because the vertical force produced by the car depends partly on its orientation relative to the airflow.
The less sensitive each aerodynamic component is to changes in the upstream airflow, the more effectively it can generate downforce across different phases of a lap. Two elements within McLaren’s Hungary upgrade were particularly important, beginning with the floor.
The Woking engineers lengthened the outer vertical element running longitudinally along the floor. They also added an internal vertical fence that effectively encloses the three floor slots, whose shapes were revised as part of the same package.
The floor itself was carefully contoured to create a clearer separation between the section responsible for managing turbulence and the adjacent area. These were small, precise changes rather than one dramatic redesign, but together they improved the way the underfloor airflow was controlled.
This approach reflects the different development strategies adopted by the leading teams, with Ferrari choosing a race-by-race upgrade programme as McLaren introduced larger packages.
McLaren revises the rear corner to control turbulence
The second crucial change was located at the rear of the MCL40. It involved the aerodynamic elements attached to the rear brake duct, which help smooth the turbulence flowing alongside the diffuser. Without effective management, this disturbed air would normally be drawn towards the low-pressure region created beneath the floor.
Teams use a series of fences and winglets in this area to weaken and reorganise the vortices, making them less harmful to the floor and diffuser assembly. Although these components represent relatively small details within the car’s overall aerodynamic concept, their effect can be significant.
McLaren divided the previously curved element into several individual profiles. This solution noticeably improved airflow stability under different operating conditions while substantially reducing the risk of flow separation.
As a consequence, the team was able to increase the angle of incidence of the lower group of winglets. That allowed the engineers to alter the pressure field on either side of the diffuser, improving the control and reduction of turbulence moving close to the rear tyre.
Once again, it was an exceptionally detailed piece of aerodynamic work. Rather than relying on a single major component to deliver lap time, McLaren combined several carefully developed surfaces to add performance to the MCL40.
Why McLaren’s Hungary upgrade proved so effective
The changes did more than increase local aerodynamic load. They allowed the MCL40 to produce stable downforce across a broader range of conditions, helping the drivers exploit the car more naturally and predictably.
Every aerodynamic element depends on the characteristics of the airflow reaching it, and those conditions change with the car’s position and attitude. During cornering, for example, the chassis is subjected to a combination of roll and yaw, changing the direction and quality of the airflow interacting with the floor, diffuser and bodywork.
Engineers cannot study every component in every possible incoming airflow condition. The objective is therefore to make each aerodynamic surface as insensitive as possible to those variations. The wider the operating window in which a component remains close to its ideal conditions, the greater and, above all, more stable the downforce it can produce.
That stability makes the car easier to predict and gives its drivers greater confidence to use a more natural driving style. In Hungary, McLaren’s meticulous work on the MCL40 helped turn an initially scheduled post-summer upgrade into an immediate competitive gain, reflected in the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix result.
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