Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack has acknowledged it would "foolish" for the Silverstone squad not to analyse the MCL38 and the stability McLaren has found with its development path.
Having started 2023 in strong form, securing six podiums in the opening eight rounds, Aston Martin has slipped backwards over the past 18 months, now fighting for in the lower reaches of the points and consigned to finishing fifth in the constructors' standings in 2024, as it ultimately did last season, too.
Meanwhile, McLaren has enjoyed a polar opposite change in fortunes. The Woking-based team started 2023 at the tail of the pack, but has chartered a deliberate and concerted developed course.
In particular, the package delivered at Austria last term and the upgrades introduced at Miami earlier this year have transformed the McLaren into F1's pace setter.
Chasing a first constructors' title since 1998, the papaya outfit has unearthed a stable platform, key to extracting performance under the current rules, and has not updated its floor since the trip to Florida, whilst rivals have struggled to understand that part of the contemporary ground-effect regulations.
When that fact was put to Krack by media including RacingNews365 and he was asked how much work has been done to understand McLaren's performance, he replied: "Yeah, this is a very good point.
"We're looking at this a lot. If you compare the pace, and you see when they have made a step, and can correlate it with some upgrades that are declared."
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McLaren's most recent significant upgrade arrived for the Dutch Grand Prix in August. It has vaulted the team clear of the opposition, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri winning three of the past four grand prix.
Now 41-points clear of reigning champions Red Bull in the constructors' standings, Krack alluded to McLaren's superior understanding of the regulations.
"We never get have the full picture, but there is some correlations where you can see: 'okay, this is what has been changed' and what has it potentially done? And then you see, for example, the Zandvoort upgrade," the 52-year-old added.
"It's a bit here, a bit there. So you see how fine and complex these cars have become, and I think it will be foolish not to look at it."
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