James Key, McLaren technical director, says both Brexit and the pandemic have affected the development of the MCL36. It was thought in advance that McLaren would terminate the service with Ferrari this season, but it happened differently.
Initially, the new regulations were to come into effect in 2021, but this has been delayed until 2022 due to the Covid pandemic. Formula 1 teams have given an extra year to develop this year’s car. While Red Bull Racing and Mercedes were vying for the world title, Ferrari and McLaren were expected to score. The Scuderia may have the fastest car with the F1-75, but McLaren can reach the top ten with the MCL36 with a lot of pain and effort.
logistical problems
McLaren is in the process of building its own wind tunnel and until then the team will have to use Toyota’s former facility in Cologne to conduct aerodynamic tests. But Ki said about the problems posed by the distance between the wind tunnel and Woking station GPFans“I think it’s fair to say – that’s no excuse, we’ve all had that challenge – I think we struggled a little bit in the early stages of the 2022 car.” It refers, among other things, to the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. “For us, at the beginning of last year there was a wind tunnel on the European mainland, after Brexit and in the middle of the pandemic, it caused a lot of logistical problems,” the official says.
The principal talks about obstacles during last year’s preparation: “We didn’t meet our wind tunnel quota in the first 24 weeks of the year. So we were late in both cars, the 2021 car and the 2022 car. Because we can’t use the wind tunnel as if it was around the corner” . Moving parts, as well as people were also under pressure during that time. “Travel rules are constantly changing and there have also been many differences between the UK and Germany,” continues Key.
wind tunnel compensation
Formula 1 teams have had limited time in the wind tunnel since last year, depending on where they stand in the automakers’ standings. With McLaren lagging behind, Key stated that the sporting body had allowed a catch-up period to ensure a level playing field. “I think while we naturally compensate for that as best we can with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) work and the FIA allowing us to get our share later in the year, we never catch up. I’m not saying that’s the reason, but there are some things we might not Be clear to everyone, it was completely unique to us.”
