F1 News: McLaren Chief Hopeful - "Potential We Didn't Exploit"
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella revealed that the 2024 MCL38 F1 car has a lot more performance left to be untapped by the team, and it is in no way similar to Red Bull's title contender, the RB20.
Key Takeaways:
- McLaren's 2024 MCL38 F1 car, according to team principal Andrea Stella, has untapped performance potential and differs from Red Bull's RB20.
- Despite a fuel system issue during pre-season testing in Bahrain, the setback is minor compared to previous testing challenges.
- Previous mid-season upgrades in 2023 were inspired by Red Bull's RB19, improving performance, but Stella emphasizes the MCL38's significant differences and ongoing development.
During the second day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, McLaren encountered a fuel system problem, leading to a loss of running time. However, this setback pales in comparison to the testing challenges they endured in 2022 and 2023.
Last year, McLaren introduced mid-season upgrades on its MCL60 that were based on the lines of Red Bull's RB19. Despite the gain in performance during the second half of the 2023 season, Stella emphasized that the current car is different from what Red Bull developed. Speaking to the media, he explained:
"It is completely different.
"Let's say there are some areas of the car in the launch specification that have significantly evolved compared to last year - some of them very noticeable.
"There are some other areas that are only incrementally improved, but we see in development, there is actually quite a lot of potential that we didn't exploit in time to put on the launch car.
"It has nothing to do with a major redesign which would be required to achieve what Red Bull has done. Ok, we are confident in our development, we are confident in the concepts we have in the car, but if anything, it is a matter of how far you are in the journey.
"Clearly, they have been ahead in the tourney and they sort of keep this margin in terms of where they are positioned."
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