McLaren’s decision to avoid introducing an updated floor at Formula 1‘s United States Grand derived from the desire to avoid “confusion” with other new components.
The Woking-based squad’s patient approach to the development race has paid dividends in 2024 as it has escaped the unintended issues its rivals have encountered.
Both Ferrari and Mercedes have experienced unanticipated setbacks when revised floor designs have induced negative characteristics that simulations hadn’t shown.
Their woes have served as a warning to McLaren boss Andrea Stella, who has admitted a reluctance to change the floor that has been run on the MCL38 since Miami.
McLaren Engineering Technical Director Neil Houldey has explained how it wishes to ensure it understands its latest parts prior to integrating a new floor into the mix.
“We brought a lot of small upgrades for this event,” he highlighted.
“I don’t really want to go into too many details about what will appear at the next events, but there’ll be more coming, for sure.
“What we’ve been doing is just continue our development progress throughout the year and at the moment, it turns out, really, that what we want to do is bring something that we know works.
“So we’re not trying to deliver something early. We’re in a good position in the championship.
“But what we don’t want to do is bring any confusion into the team about the results of the components we’re bringing. So we’re waiting and bringing them when they’re ready.
“We want it on the car. We want the performance on the car as soon as we can possibly get it.”
McLaren denies Sprint a factor in upgrade reluctance
Ferrari has decided not to debut an expected upgrade package at the Circuit of the Americas amid the restricted practice time to dial in parts due to the Sprint format.
However, Houldey has dismissed the notion that had an impact on McLaren’s thinking, citing that it wants to minimise the risks associated with alterations to the cars.
“We’re just ensuring that when we bring the parts, they’re the right ones, and they’re going to bring performance to the track,” he added.
“Aerodynamically, we already know the upgrades that we’re going to be bringing to the next couple of events.
“So they’re ready in that sense, but they’re very much in manufacture back at the factory.
“We just bring it to the event that we can get it to in the fastest possible way. So whether it’s a sprint or a standard event, doesn’t make a difference to us.
“From our perspective, we’re fully focused on our own technical development, and it’s important for us to just focus on where we are and what we bring to the races and not what other teams are doing.
“We’re learning what it’s like to be back at the front again. So for sure, the scrutiny that that brings is new to us, and I think we’re dealing with it in the right way.”
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