McLaren MCL36 2022 The Race - Daily Car Blog
McLaren F1, When Good Times Go Bad
Formula One

McLaren F1 is in trouble, big trouble. McLaren’s interpretation of the new 2022 aerodynamic regulations has created a car lacking in fulfillment. Pre-season testing was blighted by brake cooling issues which limited track time. With just six days of winter testing available, getting as much consistent running as possible is vitally important. Having fixed the brake issues McLaren turned up at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix with unseen issues.

The McLaren MCL36 is lacking downforce and grip. The lack of speed was underscored in during qualifying. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo qualified 13th and 18 respectively. And when the race concluded on Sunday, the team could only muster to 14th and 15th. They were fortunate to do so because of retirements.

It is fair to say McLaren expected so much more after three previous seasons of moving back up the grid. Right now, the biggest area of concern is a lack of downforce. A modern F1 car’s primary philosophy is aerodynamic. Get it wrong and you are playing catch up for the entire season. It is not possible to fix in one race.

Indeed the problem will last all season, the best-case scenario for McLaren is perhaps moving up the grid by two places from their current form. If they can make it into Q3, that will represent a significant breakthrough. It will also mean that the lack of grip and downforce is due to a lack of optimization brought on by a lack of track time.

McLaren has the resources, but even just one race into the season time is running out. Speaking during a media interview, Lando Norris outlined his thoughts after the struggles of Bahrain:

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“There are definitely some things that we can try, adapt to and maybe change on the car that we’ve got, to make it work a little bit better but it’s also not solely that simple.”

“That’s not easily done week to week and maybe, not able to be changed from week to week. We just need to understand it really.”

“At times the balance can feel relatively decent, it’s just we end up going slower than the majority. That’s just simply, we don’t have enough downforce [front and rear], just total downforce, total load.”

The Formula One circus heads to Saudi Arabia for the 2nd race of the season. For McLaren, this will be the season of pain.

McLaren MCL36 2022 The Race - Daily Car Blog
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