McLaren has revealed its 2023 Formula 1 car, with a Red Bull-inspired sidepod solution the most visually striking part of its launch-specification design.
The 2023 car, which has been named the MCL60 in deference to the 60th anniversary of the team’s founding by Bruce McLaren, was shown for the first time at the McLaren Technology Centre on Monday.
The MCL60, which will be driven by Lando Norris and rookie Oscar Piastri, looks for the most part similar to the specification of car the team finished the 2022 season with.
But like Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri and Williams, McLaren has attempted to create more space around the front of its sidepods and floor inlets, taking cues from the Red Bull RB18 design that ended the 2022 season as F1’s clear benchmark.
McLaren’s design also features revisions to the floor fences that feed air to the car’s underfloor and around its sidepods.
McLaren insisted the car on display at the team’s launch is unlikely to evolve much before the Bahrain pre-season test that runs from February 23-25.
New team principal Andrea Stella said early-season developments should be expected around the time of the fourth round of the season, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the end of April.
He was cautious about how McLaren would start the campaign, admitting there are “some really strong directions” it was late in catching on to design-wise and emphasising a “realistic” outlook, but added those planned updates should improve its competitiveness.
McLaren slipped from fourth to fifth in the constructors’ championship last year, behind Alpine, and is likely to face sterner midfield opposition this year from teams such as Aston Martin, which will reveal its 2023 car later on Monday.
Stella referred to McLaren’s ambition being to “establish ourselves as part of the top four” over the course of 2023, suggesting the team does not expect to start the season in that position.
“We are realistic in the very short-term, there’s good developments already in the pipeline, that should land the trackside very soon in the season.
“This should allow us to get to take a decent step forward, we are not naive.
“We know that pretty much everything will be staying the same with developments on so on. And so like I said, we also add some more high-level development.”
McLaren is due to have its new windtunnel come online during 2023 but this is not expected to have much influence on the MCL60’s development programme.
