McLaren could have had a new underbody in Austin, but is still doing without it and only bringing the other upgrade parts
McLaren has decided against introducing a new underbody on the Formula 1 weekend in Austin. The team has already brought some new parts to the US and didn’t want to cause confusion by introducing a new underbody.
Instead, the team is sticking with a new front wing, a new front suspension, and changes to the rear brake and rear wing (for an overview of all updates). However, they want to be sure that the new underbody works before they produce it. That’s why they didn’t rush anything during the break between Singapore and Austin.
“We’ve been pushing our development all year and right now we just want to bring something that we know works,“ explains Neil Houldey, the technical director for engineering. ‘So we’re not trying to deliver anything too early. We’re in a good position in the championship.’
”What we don’t want to do is bring confusion to the team regarding the results of the components we bring. So we are waiting and bringing them when they are ready,” he says.
For Austin, the team has opted for ‘many small upgrades,’ but ‘there will certainly be more to come in the upcoming events,’ promises Houldey. ”We want performance out of the car as soon as we can get it.”
He denies, however, that the limited practice time of a sprint weekend was a factor. Although everyone in Austin only has a single practice session to test upgrades and find the set-up, the bigger factor in the decision was that they only bring an upgrade if it really helps.
“We just make sure that the parts we bring are the right ones and that they deliver performance on the track,” he says. ”Aerodynamically, we already know the upgrades we’ll be using at the next few events. So in that respect they’re ready, but they’re also being manufactured at the factory.”
“We’re just getting them to the event we can as quickly as possible. Whether that’s a sprint or a normal race makes no difference to us,” said the McLaren technician.
“From our point of view, we are fully focused on our own technical development, and it’s important that we focus on where we are and what we bring to the races, not what other teams are doing.”
“We are learning what it’s like to be at the top again. Of course, the attention that comes with it is new to us, but I think we are handling it well.”