McLaren continue to bring updates for the MCL39, as they look to extend their advantage at the front of the pack.
And, whilst many would expect most of the teams to have new parts available at the British Grand Prix, given the reduced logistical challenges involved, some of their rivals have drawn a blank.
Evolution, not revolution
As you’d expect, this update package isn’t about completely transforming the performance envelope of the MCL39, given where the team currently sit in the pecking order and the advantage they already hold over the competitors.
However, the team continue to probe at areas of the car where performance can be found, with subtle changes being made to the floor at Silverstone that they expect to not only increase downforce but also the operating window in which it can be used.
McLaren have listed the update within the car presentation document as a complete floor overhaul, which suggests that whilst we can see some of the alterations that have been made to the external features, there’s also changes made to the underfloor which are out of view.
And, whilst these external features will clearly contribute to the entire effect, the magnitude of improvement is larger when we consider the role that alterations to the underfloor can have, given their proximity to the ground.
These alterations can also provide a performance boost across a wide range of ride height conditions too, opening up further opportunities in terms of setup.
Comparing the new edge wing (right), with the older specification (left), we can see that whilst the overall concept hasn’t changed dramatically, there are a number of features that have been adjusted to improve flow stability and increase stiffness too.
At the front of the edge wing, the swept section has been increased in length, the pitch of that surface has been altered and the number of vanes that are fully exposed on that swept section has increased from two, to four.
Previously the rearward most vanes sat beneath the tideline, still having an influence on the airflow but likely not with as much authority.
It’s also clear that the shape of the floor’s edge and the tail section of the edge wing have also been redesigned, in order to compliment the geometry of the tunnel on the underside of the floor, which has also resulted in more metal support brackets being used housed between them.
There’s now four support brackets in this region, as the team are obviously being more attentive to the loads being generated and how flutter might be created should the edge wing not be secured effectively.
F1 2025 head-to-head standings
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Despite work being undertaken by the team to understand if the floor was delivering the performance that was expected, they also ran their cars with different downforce configurations during Free Practice 1 too.
The unpredictability of the weather conditions for the weekend ahead will undoubtedly be on every team’s mind, however, McLaren looked to cover off those eventualities by assessing different rear wing solutions on their cars.
Norris was tasked with evaluating the lower downforce option (top), which the team will likely use if the conditions stay fair going into Saturday, whereas Piastri was tasked with assessing the merits of a higher downforce configuration, which will likely prevail if the conditions worsen.
There’s a number of distinct differences between the two, with the central V-shaped profile of the mainplane perhaps the most obvious, albeit the upper flap and tip section designs are clearly different too.
Meanwhile, it’s also very noticeable how much of a difference there is in the shape of the endplate too, with a more severe taper applied around the height of the wheel on the higher downforce offering.
The team have also introduced another rear brake duct inlet arrangement for the British Grand Prix, as they look to increase the number of options they have at their disposal and cater for the varying conditions that they’ll encounter.
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