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McLaren team boss Andrea Stella recently revealed the British team's upgrade plan and how it might completely change the MCL60. With the orange team starting off the 2023 F1 season on the back foot as a result of several unfortunate aerodynamic issues, they're now preparing to introduce some major upgrades in the future.
Prior to the 2023 F1 Australian GP, Stella spoke about how the first upgrade will be introduced in Baku and will potentially solve one of the major issues with the MCL60. He further explained how many more upgrades will likely arrive as the season progresses, gradually changing and improving the car. Speaking to The Race, he said:
“The improvement of car performance issues should start in Baku...It’s just the first step, we would expect definitely another major upgrade, which will interest more areas of the car. It will be much more apparent, what some may call like kind of a B-spec car. And then we expect to have a further round of upgrades in the second part of the season after the shutdown."
The McLaren team principal further laid out the English team's plans regarding when they would bring major upgrades to the car. The first upgrade will arrive in Baku, the second will arrive before the summer break, and the final one will arrive after the break. He hopes that each upgrade will reduce lap times by a few tenths of a second at the very least, stating:
"So, we have three main steps: Baku, later on before shutdown, and then after shutdown. And we hope that each of them will be able to provide a few tenths of a second, so that we put ourselves in a more realistic position to meet our ambition to become a top four car towards the end of the season."
Stella believes that McLaren will become a top-four car if all of the team's upgrades work as intended. For now, only time will tell how they perform in reality.
McLaren team boss is hopeful to unlock the MCL60's full potential
Andrea Stella recently recalled how McLaren performed in the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP. Although Oscar Piastri made it into Q3 in qualifying, the team fell back in the race, unfortunately. However, he's fairly confident about the Australian GP and hopes that the upgrades will unlock the MCL60's full potential as the season progresses. In a conversation with gpfans, he stated:
"It was a bittersweet experience last time out. We were pleased to see Oscar make Q3 in Jeddah, and we could have been again competitive in the race. However, we had to change the front wings on both cars after one lap, which put us in a difficult position."
Speaking positively about McLaren's future, he continued:
"We’re determined to improve the car and unlock as much performance as possible throughout the season. The season is long and there will be plenty of opportunities, starting from the next round at Albert Park."
The upcoming 2023 F1 Australian GP will be an important race for the young Australian, Oscar Piastri. This will be his first proper car race in his home country, as he last raced go-karts in Australia back in 2017.
