McLaren was good on fast tracks and bad on slow tracks: but for 2022 the team is betting on a more balanced approach
McLaren wants to produce a more balanced car for 2022 than last year, says engineering director James Key. Last year’s MCL35M handled particularly well on high-speed tracks, taking an unexpected one-two at Monza, but struggled more at slower speeds.
In the constructors’ championship, they were unable to hold their own against Ferrari in the battle for third place. Key is now hoping that the new car will address the weaknesses of its predecessor and be a little more balanced.
“We’ve paid a lot of attention to aerodynamic drag for 2020, just like we did in 2019, which was a bit before my time,” said Key, who moved to McLaren from Toro Rosso at the start of the 2019 season.
“The efficiency is good. I think what we saw in braking on the straights – one of our strengths – and in high-speed corners reflects the kind of performance we can generate with the kind of car we have. “
“What we’re missing – and we’ve been working on this for 2020 and 2021 – is to try and generate that power at low speeds as well. We know why we’re not quite there yet.” For 2021 in particular, he said, they have been trying to get to grips with the problem.
“But unfortunately there is no magic bullet that we change and suddenly everything is great,” Key said. “It takes time to make it work. That’s why we knew Zandvoort would be difficult and we knew we’d be good at Monza. “
Strength no more in 2022?
In the upcoming Formula 1 season, there are completely new regulations that are intended to generate significantly more downforce via the underbody. According to Key, this represents a good chance to solve its previous problems, even if there is no guarantee that McLaren will then still be as strong on fast tracks.
“We want to have a car that addresses its weaknesses rather than its strengths,” said the engineering chief. “By the nature of the 2022 cars, it could probably be a bit easier to keep some strengths.” But Key also knows that “strengths are always relative. “
McLaren only knows its own car, but doesn’t know what the competition has developed for this year. “Maybe there is a completely different scenario,” says Key.
“We have been more focused on having a more balanced car for different conditions than we would have now. That’s what we wanted to do if the rules had stayed the same. It’s the same process, but done differently because of the rules. “
