Despite back-to-back podium finishes, McLaren boss warns “MCL60s need to improve a lot” in one aspect to continue evolving

Team McLaren has had a good run in the Grand Prix since Austria, where Lando Norris finished P4 with upgrades that were only available to his car at that point in time.

However, Silverstone saw a huge change in the team's form as Norris and Oscar Piastri first set some fantastic lap times during the qualifying starting at P2 and P3 respectively, followed by Norris finishing at P2 and Piastri at P4.

The team made it big in Hungaroring as Norris finished P2 yet again. McLaren's astonishing pace surprised not just the drivers, but also the team principals of rivals. However, the British motor racing team still thinks that there's room for improvement in MCL60 in the slow corners.

Andrea Stella, team principal of McLaren, recently told Motorsport.com:

"We certainly come out of this event encouraged by the fact that we made progress in the average speed."

Giving further insights about what the cars needed, he said:

"We also see, as I said yesterday, that we lose time in the three low-speed corners: in the first corner, in the chicane, and in turn 12. So, confirming that there is still work to be done on the low speeds."

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What did McLaren's team principal mean by working on "low speeds?"

After the Hungarian F1 GP, Lando Norris remarked that MCL60 still had to improve on medium and high-speed corners. McLaren wasn't confident of pulling off a good performance in Hungaroring, as the nature of the track was different from that of Silverstone.

Things played out differently for the team in Hungary. According to the data collected by the team, slow corners continue to be a weakness. To tackle this problem, the design team has to improve the design of the car, so that they don't face the same problem in 2024.

Talking about other problems MCL60s have, Andrea Stella said:

"The other important confirmation is that we have made progress in terms of tire degradation. And we see that having improved the car actually leads to an improvement in the way you use the tyres, which is, you know, what... It's known that a good load helps the tyres. But it was nice to confirm that again."

Albeit these problem confirmations, Stella is sure that the cars would clock a good lap time at Spa, a track that is known for its high-speed corners.

Elaborating on the speeds required for the corners like turn 10, Stell said:

"Although Spa is normally referred to as one of the high-speed tracks and therefore, in reality, the fastest corner, turn 10, is flat in qualifying. And there is a lot of lap time in the first corner, which is 80 km/h, in the eighth corner, which is 100 km/h."

Continuing further, he explained:

"And in the last chicane, which is 90 km/h. So, I don't want to repeat myself, but I pay a little attention because in these three corners, at the moment, we see that we lose time."

The Belgian GP also includes a sprint race. Stella emphasizes the importance of the speed of the cars to adapt to that of the track. Spa is known for being a demanding track in terms of turns. Due to low ground clearance on ride heights like Eau Rouge, the car can't push much as it would damage the floor.

It ultimately depends on how early and how fast McLaren can set up the MCL60 to make a difference in performance in the upcoming race.