McLaren is bringing a new rear wing for the Brazilian Grand Prix that should offer Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri more downforce flexibility.
McLaren continues to do everything it can to win the Formula 1 titles this year. A new rear wing will be introduced for the Brazilian Grand Prix. While the weather is still very uncertain this weekend and rain could require a rethink of the wings, this new rear wing should give Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri an additional option in terms of downforce and drag if it stays dry.
The new design appears to fall between the medium and low downforce offerings that McLaren already has in its options pool. In fact, it is already the seventh track-specific rear wing of the 2024 season that McLaren has brought to the track at Sao Paulo.
As for the rear wing design, the main structure is similar to what we are used to seeing from McLaren – it shares the same features as the team’s other options. However, the main plane design has been changed, with a much deeper center section and a steeper, almost V-shaped leading edge that tapers out to the end plate.
Doesn’t the rear wing go with Brazil at all?
The leading edge of the main wing is also more curved upwards than on some other wings in the family. This provides the necessary effect that McLaren’s aerodynamics engineers are aiming for. Although this design looks a little different from what the rest of the field is currently doing, it is by no means new.
During this regulation era, Aston Martin and Alpine have toyed with similar solutions, while the tall but narrow, spoon-shaped rear wings of 2009-2016 took a similar design direction under earlier rules. Although the wing has been tested in training, that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to be used for the rest of the race weekend.
It may be a little unsuitable for the challenges of the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, another circuit at altitude, albeit not at the dizzying heights of Mexico. But considering McLaren didn’t run at the highest downforce in Mexico, despite it traditionally being the case there in the past, it could be the same in Brazil, with further downforce and drag reduction possible.
McLaren now top of the update race
Teams are certainly getting more adept at balancing their downforce needs with different beam wings – something McLaren could work on with this new rear wing solution to get the most out of their package. Because in addition to the new rear wing, which is designed for a different level of downforce, McLaren has also added two new beam wings to its pool.
This means that McLaren has now used 13 different beam wing solutions over the course of the entire season, more than any other team. With the updates in Brazil, the team from Woking has also overtaken Aston Martin at the top of the update ranking. In total, McLaren has made 50 updates to its car so far in 2024, again more than any other team.
In any case, one beam wing is a high-downforce version and the other is a low-downforce version. The idea is that the best version can be selected to achieve the perfect level of performance, together with the new rear wing, to balance straight-line speed and cornering potential.