McLaren confirm major upgrades for disappointing MCL40 still several races away

Disappointing for the reigning Formula 1 World Champions whose drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri last year both finished on the podium, but this year the Australian did not even make the race while Norris was only good for P5.

A disappointing showing from McLaren, who are Mercedes PU customers, considering that the works team's drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished P1 and P2 in Australia last Sunday.

The Chinese Grand Prix returns as the first Sprint weekend of the season. That format immediately increases the pressure on teams still learning the behaviour of their new generation cars under the latest regulations.

The 5.451 km Shanghai International Circuit hosts 56 race laps and a packed schedule that includes Sprint Qualifying on Friday, the Sprint race on Saturday morning, followed by qualifying and the Grand Prix on Sunday.

McLaren’s focus is straightforward after Australia. Understand the car. Improve performance. Extract more from the power unit.

Technical Director Neil Houldey admitted the team is still analysing the behaviour of the MCL40 after the first race weekend: “Last weekend’s first race of the season in Australia provided the team with further valuable information as we continue our journey of development and learning under the new regulations.”

The Sprint format leaves teams with only one practice session before competitive sessions begin. That creates an additional challenge for engineers trying to fine-tune the cars.

Houldey explained that Melbourne provided valuable real race data but also exposed areas that still need improvement: “To see the car in various scenarios under racing conditions for the first time was a good opportunity for new knowledge progression.

"We understand that there is still a lot to do as we continue to work hard to further exploit the performance of the power unit while also putting additional focus on areas such as improving grip in corners.”

The circuit combines long straights with slow technical corners, making traction and energy recovery critical factors under the new regulations. Despite the learning curve, McLaren do not expect significant upgrades immediately.

Houldey indicated that development work is ongoing but that larger performance steps will take time: “The next few races will continue to see this focus in place as we look to extract the maximum performance from our current configuration.

"There is a lot of effort by the team, both trackside and in Woking, to develop the car, but we are aware that this will take a few more races to be in a position to bring any major upgrades to track.”

McLaren are working closely with Mercedes High Performance Powertrains as they attempt to maximise performance from the current package.

The team heads into the weekend looking to capitalise on the extra points available in the Sprint: “Going into this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, we have collectively taken all of our learnings from Melbourne and regrouped as a team together with our HPP partners.

"To make sure that we deliver as much performance as possible to put the team in a strong competitive position for opportunities in both Saturday’s Sprint Race and Sunday’s Grand Prix.”

McLaren have enjoyed success at Shanghai in the past with four victories, including Oscar Piastri’s win there last season.

Whether the MCL40 can repeat that result remains to be seen as teams continue to unlock performance from the new era of Formula 1 machinery.