MADRID.- After a difficult start to the season, the team McLarencurrent world champion of constructors, has righted the course, achieving triumphs in the recent Grand Prix of Formula 1 of Hungary and Netherlandsand “progresses very well” towards 2027, its technical director told AFP this Friday, Mark Temple.
ASK: After a difficult start to the season, how have you managed to get back to the top and what weaknesses have you managed to correct?
ANSWER: “It has been necessary to understand the new engines, their operation both from a driving and engineering point of view. It has been a very steep learning curve, so at the beginning of the year we made very rapid progress in how to operate and drive the car better. Obviously, things have stabilized a little, but we are still learning and looking for small improvements on the engine side.”
“It is on the chassis where we have introduced several evolutions in aerodynamics: flat bottom, rear spoiler, front spoiler. All of this adds up and represents a large part of the improvement. The rest is more subtle, more related to small adjustments for the drivers based on their feedback or the use of the tires.”
Q: Did you expect the start of the season to be so difficult with the new regulations?
R: “We knew it was going to be very difficult, but predicting that it will be difficult is one thing and experiencing it is another. We have tried to plan as much as possible, so we knew that the engine would be a big challenge and that the aerodynamic development would be very fast.”
“When there is a big change in regulations, each team comes with different ideas. We have ours, but we also have to look at what others are doing, see what we can learn, what we can incorporate into our own car and what may not be relevant.”
Q: The fight with Red Bull and Max Verstappen until the last Grand Prize of last season contributed to this more difficult start to the campaign?
R: “It obviously had an impact. When one season is mathematically decided, it’s very easy to focus on the next one, but the drivers’ championship was extremely tight last season, so we had to stay more focused. When there’s a title at stake, you have to look at the Grands Prix right in front of you and focus on those, while also trying to manage the following year.”
Q: Where is the development of the car for 2027?
R: “It is progressing very well. It will be an evolution of the 2026 car because the regulations are broadly the same. Therefore, it is simpler than the transition from 2025 to 2026, since, although you redesign most of the car, you start from a base that constitutes a good reference. It is, therefore, more of an evolution than a completely different problem to be solved. I think we are making good progress. Obviously, we would always like to have more time to do more things and improve performance, but from that point of view there is no concern.”
“The learning of 2026 is going to help us a lot”
Q: Do you think they will be able to make an even more competitive car next year?
R: “Yes, clearly. There are things that we have learned throughout the season about the current car and that we cannot incorporate until next year, so we should take a step forward. And the learning from 2026 is going to help us a lot. Traditionally, when there are new regulations, the rate of progression slows down a little after the first year, but I am sure that it will remain quite high during the winter, so we have to start from the basis that we have to maximize everything.”
