F1 Austrian Grand Prix: McLaren's Latest Upgrade to MCL60 Features Red Bull Design Elements

At the Red Bull Ring this weekend, McLaren will debut the first part of a significant overhaul. In upcoming European races, the Woking team is predicted to introduce additional components. McLaren announced plans to overhaul the whole vehicle during the Canada weekend, hoping to recover from a slow start to the 2023 Formula One season. On the track in Austria, Norris will be using updated sidepods, with the complete list of modifications to be unveiled by the FIA soon. Since there are so many new components, and since McLaren wants to start using them as soon as possible, the team is rolling out their greatest update of the season in phases. McLaren required additional time to design and build the upgrade. At the Red Bull Ring, only Norris's vehicle will have the latest components installed, while Oscar Piastri will have to wait until the following event at Silverstone, when he and Norris will each have around 75% of the whole kit.

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F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Major Changes to McLaren MCL60

In the lead-up to the start of the Austria race weekend on Friday, McLaren gave onlookers their first glimpse at their newly introduced work, which naturally includes a significant degree of changes around the sidepod region.

Detalles del nuevo pontón del McLaren. Un poco de Aston Martin, un poco de Red Bull...

Details of new McLaren's sidepod. Abit of Aston Martin, a bit of Red Bull...#f1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/O6NNTNZCwY

— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) June 29, 2023

The upgrades have been compared to those of Aston Martin and Red Bull, with the latter being hardly surprising given that Mercedes and Ferrari have ditched their unique sidepod designs in favour of solutions more akin to the season's dominant Red Bull team as part of their massive upgrade packages. McLaren is also making significant progress on the MCL60's floor.

Primeras fotos de los nuevos pontones de McLaren. Solo en el coche de Norris hoy.

First pictures of new McLaren sidepods. Only on Norris car today. #f1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/Ou61Xn8GtM

— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) June 29, 2023

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F1:Norris Gets the Latest Updates

McLaren would be taking a huge financial hit if anything were to be ruined if it shared components between the two vehicles. Since Norris is the more seasoned driver and currently is the lead McLaren driver in the championship standing, he got the upgrades over Piastri, who is a relative newcomer to the sport. While acknowledging that the Red Bull Ring should be more friendly, McLaren team chief Andrea Stella emphasised the importance of the modifications in transforming the team's competitive fate.

McLaren started reversing course with an earlier upgrade package in Azerbaijan after seeing it was falling behind with its floor design in the early interpretations of F1's ground-effect regulations introduced last year. However, it was still a part of a larger body of work begun under the old technical regime, but this package is the product of the new structure put in place in April, when technical director James Key was replaced by a three-pronged organisation.

Norris enters the Austrian round with a total of 12 points, putting him in 11th position in the Drivers' Championship.