Radical McLaren upgrade targets its biggest weakness

McLaren arrived in Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with one of the most significant development packages of its season, and the most consequential changes are concentrated on the sidepods.

From the outside, the difference is immediately apparent: the sidepod inlets have been completely redesigned, moving away from the previous horizontally elongated, oblong cross-section to a squarer opening featuring a pronounced horizontal lip along the lower edge.

The concept will be familiar to close observers of the grid. The solution broadly echoes the approach Red Bull adopted two seasons ago, where the inlet mouth, viewed from the side, displayed a similarly wide horizontal lip that served as a flow separator. That is precisely the function it performs here on the MCL40.

What makes this update genuinely interesting, however, is that the visible external change is only the surface expression of a far deeper internal rethinking.

The modification has fundamentally altered how airflow is managed towards the undercut, with the principal goal of meaningfully reducing aerodynamic drag.

According to information gathered by RacingNews365, the radiators and heat exchangers themselves have not been physically altered in terms of their available radiating surface area. What has changed is the internal packaging: specifically, the ducting channels that feed them.

By generating different internal pressure and velocity values compared to the previous configuration, McLaren's engineers have managed to reduce the drag produced by the cooling system without compromising its thermal exchange capacity, which remains fully adequate for engine cooling requirements.

In essence, a more rational organisation of the internal feed ducting for the heat exchangers and radiators has not only preserved their effectiveness but arguably enhanced it, while simultaneously cutting the drag penalty that the original layout imposed.

It is a notable piece of engineering: a modification that, while visible through the shape of the new inlets, has its real substance on the inside.

Addressing a known weakness

The broader context here matters. The MCL40 has long been regarded as carrying more drag than its principal rivals, a characteristic that has cost Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the straights across several rounds of the championship.

In Woking, addressing this has clearly been a sustained and detailed area of study, and this Baku package represents the most concrete step yet towards closing that gap.

The implications extend beyond the immediate competitive picture. There is a reasonable case to be made that this development serves as a prototype for how McLaren intends to approach the internal layout of cooling components in future machinery.

The solutions validated here, both in terms of packaging philosophy and aerodynamic efficiency, are likely to inform the architecture of the next generation of McLaren cars.

For Norris and Piastri, the timing carries genuine significance. With the constructors' championship battle intensifying, any reduction in straight-line drag deficit to the competition offers a meaningful opportunity to recover ground in this phase of the season as the papaya team aims to hunt down Ferrari for second.