In the three days of pre-season tests in Bahrain the teams began to study the behavior of the 2024 single-seaters, also identifying the areas to work on during the season. Although it is still early to take risks and talk about values on the track, some cars have demonstrated that they have a good, if not excellent, starting base, such as Red Bull and Ferrari, who completed the sessions without any particular problems to resolve. Other teams, such as Mercedes and McLaren, however, have had problems of various kinds and are not fully satisfied with the performance on the track, despite the evident improvements. Of course, nothing comparable to McLaren's initial debacle last season, but nevertheless team principal Andrea Stella's expectations for the first race of the season in Bahrain are rather limited. Also due to a track that doesn't quite match the characteristics of the MCL38.
Red Bull and Ferrari ahead, McLaren focuses on development
Andrea Stella didn't mince words last year. When presenting the MCL60 he spoke of an incomplete car, which would struggle in the initial stages, and so it was. Although the situation is different this year, due to the great work carried out during the summer break with the updates on the MCL60 and during the winter, the team principal expects an uphill start again. The three days of testing in Bahrain have in fact highlighted the quality of the MCL38 design Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, also some areas that the team still needs to work on. The problems with the tank and the clutch, which took away precious time from the team during the testing phase, must be taken with the utmost seriousness and resolved immediately to avoid finding ourselves like last year, chasing the other teams.
Despite this series of unforeseen events, according to Andrea Stella, on the track the MCL38 would have responded well to the challenges for which it was created: “From a performance point of view, the MCL38 showed us what we expected on the track"- the McLaren team principal declared who then continued – “This is good news because there are some innovations in the car and we were waiting to see how they would work on the track."
Bahrain adverse track for the MCL38
If steps forward have been made, it will take time to see the true potential of the MCL38 according to Stella. For the team principal of the Woking stable, which he firmly believes in the direction taken by the team and in the MCL38 project now it is useless to delude ourselves by comparing ourselves with teams like Ferrari and Red Bull, who have worked on a completely different type of project. Furthermore, according to Stella, in Bahrain there would be a further factor to consider, namely the track on which it is raced and which is not suited to the characteristics of the papaya car.
“We have to be cautious because some teams seem to have made a good step forward over the winter and Bahrain is not the ideal track for our car.” However, this certainly does not discourage Stella, who is confident in the direction taken by the team and knows he can count on development once the season has started.
“The MCL38 is a good basis for development and it's certainly a step up from last year's car. Some of our weak points have been improved, I think the rear grip, although in general we still need to add aerodynamic performance. We see that there is actually still a lot of potential in the development and it has nothing to do with such a major redesign. Then we still have some margin to improve from a mechanical point of view and in terms of interaction with the tyres".
However, the Woking team remains a special observer, especially at Fanta F1. Last season, the exploits of the Norris-Piastri duo at the end of the season made the fortune of many fantasy managers who had now lost hope in the papaya team.
Source statements: Formula1a.one
