McLaren must wait two more years to complete new wind tunnel

McLaren had to come a long way, a very long way. In 2020, however, the Woking-based racing team finished third in the Constructors' Championship, and they want more. They want to close the gap to Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, but especially 2022 will be very important. That is when the new regulations are introduced in Formula 1.

The room to improve is there at McLaren. "It is clear that we have not reached our full potential yet. The plan also requires a huge upgrade on the infrastructure side. Otherwise you run into limits. Some of our infrastructure was completely outdated," says Andreas Seidl. "As long as the new one is not in operation, you are at a disadvantage. The wind tunnel, for example, is a key element in the development of the cars."

The German team boss says that unfortunately the new wind tunnel won't be fully completed for another two years. Until then, McLaren will have to make do with the older model. In any case, there is a lot of innovation going on at the British formation. A year ago, perhaps no one would have believed this, since McLaren was then hit hard financially by the coronavirus.

Advantage McLaren

Meanwhile, there is a balanced budget thanks to investors and sponsors. The introduction of the budget cap has also helped McLaren considerably. According to Auto, Motor und Sport, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari have to cut back significantly, while for McLaren, not much will change. "2021 is the first year with the newly introduced budget cap. This is an important step to rebalance the teams' resources," said Seidl.