McLaren transformed the rear of its MCL39 at Zandvoort. A look back at the key developments that allowed Lando Norris to secure pole position.
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McLaren did not wait until the end of the season to continue evolving its MCL39. At Zandvoort, the British team completed the package introduced in Hungary with three modifications focused on the rear of the car. Sometimes spectacular changes, especially at the rear wing level, which helped provide Lando Norris with a car precise enough to clinch pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix.
At first glance, it is obviously the rear wing that draws attention. McLaren introduced a new assembly at Zandvoort whose side plates feature a particularly worked geometry.
As shown by our exclusive comparison between the Hungary and Netherlands configurations, the outer surface of the endplate is no longer simply curved: it is now traversed by several very pronounced undulations, which almost give the impression of being embossed into the piece.
This solution is not purely aesthetic. These reliefs allow better control of the disturbed airflow coming from the rear tire and, above all, its interaction with the vortex that forms at the end of the wing.
A known idea, taken much further
The principle of relief lines on rear wing endplates is not new. Alpine and Aston Martin had paved the way as early as Monaco in 2023 (or even before), before this idea was gradually adopted elsewhere.
However, McLaren offers a particularly advanced interpretation at Zandvoort. The challenge is to create these complex shapes while respecting regulatory constraints on the thickness of the endplates and maintaining sufficient rigidity to withstand the significant aerodynamic loads the wing is subjected to.
In the document submitted to the FIA, McLaren more modestly explains having designed a new rear wing assembly intended to effectively increase aerodynamic downforce “in all conditions.”
But this wing is only part of the work done.
The entire rear of the McLaren reworked
The second exclusive comparison allows measuring the extent of the modifications made around the rear suspension. McLaren notably revised the central bodywork, in the area of the Coca-Cola bottle shape, as well as the environment around the exhaust outlet.
The goal is to have this new bodywork work in concert with the rear wing to extract more aerodynamic performance. This is precisely how McLaren presents this development in its technical declaration to the FIA.
The rear brake ducts have also evolved, and not only in their visible surfaces. The team specifies having modified their geometry both internally and externally to improve flow conditioning, with a dual sought benefit: aerodynamic, but also in terms of brake cooling.
Our images show how sophisticated this area has become. Deflectors, fins, and ducts interlock in an extremely tight space, aiming to best control the turbulence generated by the rear wheel and to cleanly feed the diffuser and wing.
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A package started in Hungary
These novelties actually constitute the second stage of a development started at the Hungarian Grand Prix. McLaren had already begun modifying the rear suspension environment of the MCL39 before completing the setup at Zandvoort.
The logic is clear: rather than seeking an isolated gain on one part, the Woking engineers worked on the entire rear aerodynamic ecosystem. Bodywork, brake ducts, and wing must work together to generate more downforce without paying an excessive drag penalty.
And on a circuit like Zandvoort, where confidence in fast downforce and direction changes is essential, these gains can count.
Norris: “We had to try something”
Lando Norris confirmed this after clinching pole position in 1’11’’163, just over a tenth ahead of George Russell.
The Briton admitted not being completely satisfied with his MCL39 earlier in the day. McLaren therefore made some adjustments before qualifying.
“We had to try something, because what we had before wouldn’t have been enough,” Norris explained.
Nothing revolutionary in the settings, he assures, and certainly not enough to suddenly find one or two tenths. But enough to change his feeling behind the wheel.
“We made a few small changes. Nothing that would gain us two tenths, or even one tenth, but enough to maybe give me a bit more confidence.”
An important nuance on a track as demanding as Zandvoort.
“On a circuit like this, you need to have confidence in the car and be able to attack a lot. I felt I could do that more today, and it paid off.”
After his pole converted into a win right here in 2024, Norris will therefore start once again at the front in the Netherlands. And behind the time lies an MCL39 that McLaren continues, down to the smallest details of its rear suspension, to exploit its potential.
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