McLaren left the Canadian Formula 1 GP with doubts about one of the main novelties brought to the MCL40. The team introduced a new update package over the weekend but decided to abandon the new front wing specification before the Sprint Qualifying.
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Besides the wing, the car received modifications to the engine cover, rear suspension fairings, and floor edges. The problem for the team was the little time available for analysis in a Sprint weekend, which had only one free practice session in Montreal.
Lando Norris explained that there is still no decision about the future of the part. “We need to make sure it works properly next time. It’s not guaranteed that we will use it in Monaco, but we will do tests to try to make it work better,” said the Brit after the race.
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According to Norris, the drivers did not have enough confidence in the car with the new setup. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was also considered an important factor in this analysis, as it demands a lot of stability under braking and aggressiveness over the curbs. Oscar Piastri started the session using the old wing and then switched to the new version, while Norris used the updated component throughout the session.
The team principal, Andrea Stella, revealed that the correlation between simulation data and the actual behavior of the wing did not meet expectations. “We knew this front wing had some level of deviation from an aerodynamic point of view. We want to repeat the tests and get more information,” he highlighted. Stella also stated that McLaren has already used experimental updates in other events to validate development tools and confirmed that the new wing will be reassessed in Monaco.
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