McLaren ‘alter personality’ of MCL38 to end Red Bull’s RB20 dominance

It’s no secret that McLaren is closing the gap on Red Bull Racing in 2024 — and according to Andrea Stella, McLaren’s team principal, that’s because the team has ‘altered’ the personality of the MCL38 challenger.

After Lando Norris’ pole position start and second-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix, Stella says there’s reason to be positive in the McLaren camp. The team is making progress — and it’s closing the gap to the once seemingly unstoppable Red Bull.

MCL38 surges forward on low, medium-speed tracks

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

Just a year ago, the Woking-based F1 team struggled to find consistency and speed just about anywhere it went, but a string of impressive performances has convinced Andrea Stella that things are changing.

“[We are] witnessing the improvements we have made in the medium and low speeds,” Stella told assembled media, including PlanetF1.com, after the Spanish Grand Prix.

However, he admitted that the team has “been able to alter the personality of the car.”

“Now it’s a car that works well in a speed range, which 12 months ago was our weakness,” he added.

McLaren at the Spanish Grand Prix:

👉 Lando Norris makes two notable admissions after losing latest Max Verstappen battle

👉 ‘Messed up’ – Ralf Schumacher explains how Lando Norris and McLaren lost the Spanish GP

While Stella does admit that the McLaren is still lacking on high-speed corners, it also sounds as if he’s confident that the team can compensate for any current issues.

“With this generation of car, you gain somewhere, you lose a little bit somewhere else, and you just have to continue your development,” he said. “It’s not like we made high speed worse; it’s like we didn’t improve it as much as we did in some other areas.”

Red Bull, Stella admits, still beats out McLaren on those high-speed corners — but there’s room to grow, the same way that the team has grown with its every upgrade package in 2024.

As the MCL38 continues to evolve, we may very well see it whittle down the performance gap to the once-unbeatable Red Bull RB20.

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