Key: "We’ve got plenty of developments to look at"

McLaren will continue the development of the 2022 car from the start of 2021. This will be announced by technical director James Key. Formula 1 will make many changes to the car for that year.

McLaren drives directly into the wind tunnel

Many teams had been working for some time on the 2022 car, which would actually be introduced as early as 2021. But because of the coronavirus, the new regulations have been postponed for a year. In addition, teams were no longer allowed to work on the 2022 car in 2020.

Key says that no time will be wasted in 2021 and the team immediately starts further development of the new car. "We’ve got plenty of developments to look at and lots of new concepts floating around too," Key informs MotorsportWeek.com.

"There’s a real blank sheet of paper approach to the ’22 car – the chassis regulations are fundamentally different, and the wheels and tyres are changing too," Key continues. According to the Brit, the team has been working on it for some time.

Part of the work has already been done

Because the new regulations would actually be in force as early as 2021, Key thinks that most teams were already at an advanced stage with the new cars for aero-development coming to a standstill this year. "That hasn’t stopped mechanical design or simulation work taking place though.

"The development freeze bought everyone a bit of thinking time. It allowed us to take a step back and really analyse the data and what we’ve done," concludes Key. He looks forward to the new cars of 2022 and calls it a fresh start.