McLaren's 2023 F1 car made it's track debut at the Bahrain International Circuit two days ahead of official preseason testing, with a car which appeared to have a close resemblance to the Red Bull. The MCL60 completed a first test at the Bahrain circuit on the Tuesday before preseason testing, completing a shakedown and filming day. It was here that the first pictures of the true MCL60 were revealed, which had a striking resemblance to last year's championship-winning car, the Red Bull RB18.
Sidepods
With Formula 1's 'big three' teams (Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes) all revealing launch cars which were evolutions of their 2022 cars, the sport will still see a variety of design concepts in the 2023 F1 season. However, several teams further down the grid appear to have followed some of the Red Bull signature design traits from 2022. In particular, a sidepod design which sweeps down towards the rear of the car is becoming more common. McLaren have opted for the same layout, but a side-by-side comparison of this year's McLaren and last year's Red Bull shows just how similar the sidepods geometry is.
Front wing
There's also a striking similarity in the front wing area, as seen in the images below. The front wing profiles of this year's MCL60 appear very similar to the RB18 of 2022, with the exception of perhaps the lower corners of the end plates, which have a slightly thinner mounting point compared to the Red Bull. Similarities exist in the curvature of the wing elements, as well as the mounting point at the end of the nose cone. RacingNews365 will be keeping an eye on developments over the course of the preseason test, which runs from 23-25 February.
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