McLaren is facing the chance to challenge at the top of Formula 1 again after successful years: Will it succeed with a new concept?
While the balance of power for 2022 is more open than it has been for a long time, when it comes to the topic of favourites, one hears the name McLaren time and again. After sobering years with Honda, the team is on the upswing again and has recently been able to re-establish itself at the top of the midfield.
Although the team narrowly failed to maintain its third place from 2020 last year, it did manage its first victory in almost nine years at Monza. And with the new regulations, there is now the chance to start the new era without lagging behind the top teams and to attack the very front again. The bosses around Andreas Seidl and Zak Brown are certainly confident that they can do it.
Seidl in particular is emblematic of McLaren’s rise. Under him, the racing team worked its way back up, bit by bit, even if he himself plays down his influence on the success. The question is: Will the next step be taken in 2022?
Because the successes of the previous years were based on solid development work, now you have to put together a strong car from nothing. “We’ve made good progress and we have to be happy with that,” says technical director James Key, who is particularly pleased with the good results of the past season.
The fact that they ultimately lost out to Ferrari in 2021 was due to a series of unfortunate events as well as a “fearsome opponent”, he says. “We still have some catching up to do as a team against them,” Key insists. “We’re still young as an organisation and we still have some investments to come. “
Good on fast tracks, not so on slow ones
The car itself was just the way it was. Especially on fast tracks the MCL35M was strong, but on slow tracks it had its problems – and that was the handicap, especially in the second half of the season.
“There were no surprises in that respect. Zandvoort was worse than expected, basically sub-optimal, but we knew the car would struggle there,” says Key. “In return, we expected to be fast in Monza. And that was the case. “
However, the technical boss has already announced that everything will be different for 2022. McLaren wants to have a more balanced car, one that no longer performs well on one track and poorly on the next, but one that is as consistent as possible on the track. “The car simply needs to address its weaknesses rather than its strengths,” says Key.
The new regulations offer a good opportunity for this: “It starts with a blank sheet of paper, so there is no inheritance built in in terms of behaviour,” he knows. But of course there is a certain DNA in the team that is not easily changed overnight.
Do strengths and weaknesses stand out more?
“The fact that the cars will be so different in 2022 also means that the strengths and weaknesses will stand out a bit more, because they are likely to be similar to what you are already trying to achieve at the moment,” says Key. “But it will be interesting to see how they will compare.”
Because strengths and weaknesses are relative anyway – depending on what the other teams are doing. And that is still the big unknown this year.
Nevertheless, McLaren will just try to put a more balanced car on its feet. “That’s what we would have done if the rules had stayed the same,” Key points out. “It would have been the same process, just in a slightly different form because of the rules.”
But how much overhang is there between the old and new cars anyway? “Certainly there are some things that can be learned for next year as well,” Key says. While many components will have to be rediscovered, “certain mechanical solutions certainly apply to both seasons”.
In 2022, McLaren will also be able to start a season without a disadvantage again, because in 2021 they had a somewhat more difficult situation compared to the competition. Because while the competition was able to work on weak points of the previous year by means of two tokens, McLaren had to use its tokens for the conversion from the Renault to the Mercedes engine.
Key would have liked to have developed old car further
Due to the freeze on the cars, McLaren had also pulled forward some updates planned for 2021 and already brought them to the 2020 car – such as the nose or front suspension. “But these new concepts have worked,” insists Key, who would have liked a little more time – perhaps another year – to get the best out of them.
“We would have continued to develop the car around those ideas and concepts and taken the logical next steps,” he says. “There’s definitely unfinished business on the car because we haven’t covered everything we’d like to.”
But with the new regulations for 2022 in mind, it was clear that the focus would have to be on the new regulations. “By and large we got it right and we certainly wouldn’t have done anything differently. But we could have pushed it further if we had the opportunity,” Key said.
But now there is a completely new opportunity for McLaren.
