McLaren have officially declared their new wind tunnel facility open, transforming the team’s operational capacity and giving Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri a better chance of fighting Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2024 and beyond.
The Woking-based team have been waiting for this major technological upgrade to be completed for some time, having worked out of Toyota’s wind tunnel in Germany since 2010, when the McLaren Technology Centre last had a functional testing facility.
CEO Zak Brown has already predicted the impact that the new, state-of-the-art facility will have on the team’s fortunes. He told Sky Sports F1: “We’ve got our new manufacturing unit we moved into before the summer break, so all of our manufacturing is now up and running, our simulator and our CFD.
“So we have all the toys that we need to compete at the front, now it’s just going to take some more time and have a few more people join us and we’re on our way. I think efficiency and productivity, size-wise… I think we’re the same as everyone else cost cap-wise.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.
Don’t miss… Red Bull chief discusses Alonso partnering Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen[LATEST]
“But now things like the wind tunnel. When we were renting a wind tunnel, you’re obviously paying a premium. Now that we have our own, we can reallocate those monies into other areas.
“Hence being able to recruit some more people [and] increase the headcount in certain departments. So now it’s just really about culture and everyone working hard, which they’re doing and a little bit of time.”
McLaren have experienced a rollercoaster trajectory throughout the 2023 season, which started in dismal fashion with the team possessing arguably the slowest car in the field in both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Don’t miss…
Russell wouldn’t work at Mercedes if ‘endless Hamilton requests’ were accepted[MERCEDES]
Lando Norris picks sides after Max Verstappen and Toto Wolff back-and-forth[NORRIS]
Lewis Hamilton taunted for being ‘greedy’ by Lando Norris and team-mate Russell[HAMILTON]
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
However, since then the team has bounced back under the leadership of Andre Stella, steadily climbing up the grid before taking a huge leap forward in the build-up to the summer break. This was marked by a front-row start and podium finish for Norris at the British Grand Prix.
With six rounds of the season remaining, Norris has now recorded four second-place finishes, while Piastri clinched his first-ever F1 podium in his rookie season at the Japanese Grand Prix last time out.
Norris set his sights on Red Bull after the team’s double-podium in Japan, stating: “Incredible job all weekend. Double podium! Two of us up there. We’re coming. We’re coming for Red Bull. Let’s keep up the work!”
Source: Read Full Article