The race for development has always been central in Formula 1, but even more so in the context of the current four-way battle where even a tenth of a second can make the difference between two rows on the grid. As activities resume, McLaren is pressing the accelerator, presenting a package of updates that have been in the works since the distant Miami Grand Prix. Mercedes, on the other hand, is trying to reap the benefits of the new floor introduced at Spa-Francorchamps, while Red Bull is gritting its teeth, even considering a step back. Ferrari, for its part, looks to the future with optimism, but the new aerodynamic package at Maranello is not yet ready.
McLaren
The MCL38 has established itself as the most versatile and complete car in the leading group, without showing particular flaws in balance or drivability. This quality is no accident, as McLaren distinguishes itself from the competition by taking a more measured approach with updates. The Woking team chooses to take the necessary time to thoroughly analyze new developments before launching them, ensuring they don’t encounter side effects like other teams have.
“In a good way, we took our time to understand thoroughly,” explained Lando Norris to the media present at Zandvoort. “We’ve seen other teams bring in updates that didn’t necessarily work. We wanted to make sure we avoided all that, which is why we’ve been patient. Even though we’ve had some great weekends, I think we’ve paid the price in the last few races compared to some of our rivals who brought updates. So it’s nice that now these appointments are arriving.” In the Netherlands, McLaren is introducing the second package of updates after the one in Miami, trying to gain ground on Red Bull, which could lead to a championship recovery.
Ferrari
The Maranello team is among those that have paid the price for the side effects of updates, which have exacerbated the bouncing issues and narrowed the operational window of the SF-24 single-seater. The positive news for the Prancing Horse upon returning from the break is the confidence they have in understanding the root of the problems that arose with development. Carlos Sainz confirms: “The team has done its analysis on the first half of the season. I think there’s an understanding of exactly what went wrong with the parts that didn’t work as expected. Whether we’ll be able to or have enough time to recover performance and lost time remains to be seen.”
“I don’t know how much others will develop, but we’ve analyzed and know what we did wrong; I think it’s clear,” Carlos Sainz continues. “Now it’s all about logistics to see if we’ll have the ability to gain two, three, or four tenths in the next ten races to be as fast as McLaren.” In the Netherlands, Ferrari will race without updates, using the setup from Spa-Francorchamps. Listening to Charles Leclerc, however, the new developments at Maranello are promising: “I can’t say when we’ll bring them, but I’m fully confident that the work we’re doing on the updates will make us take a step forward.”
Red Bull
At Max Verstappen’s home race, the low-efficiency, high-cooling bodywork introduced in Budapest returns, this time on both RB20s. Beyond that, the priority at Red Bull is improving the car’s balance, which has complicated the setup process during the summer months. “We’ve definitely made the car faster, but probably harder to extract its potential,” said Perez to the media in the paddock. “Obviously, we’ll need to find compromises until we have a definitive solution, but I’m not too worried. I think the most important thing is to understand our problems and start from there.”
Helmut Marko is cautious, explaining that it may take some time before the aerodynamic corrections are ready. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez does not rule out a partial rollback of recent updates, considering whether to return to a previous specification to regain confidence in the car: “We’ll see. We’ll definitely try different things to fix everything. There’s definitely something that has led us in the wrong direction, but obviously, it’s not that easy or quick to fix. It takes time for everything. With the few practice sessions we have and the different types of circuits coming up, it won’t be easy.”
Mercedes
While waiting to see if the Silver Arrows will have other updates available, the team led by Toto Wolff must resolve the issues with the latest developments. In Belgium, a new floor debuted but was quickly abandoned after the first day of practice, where drivers complained of bouncing and balance issues. Immediately after the race, Toto Wolff hurried to explain that the first day’s difficulties were not due to the updates, which are indeed returning to the car at Zandvoort.
“We’ll use it tomorrow morning,” said George Russell regarding the new floor, hinting at a comparative testing program. “Lewis will run with the Spa floor, where we don’t see any problems. I think on Friday in Belgium, we weren’t competitive for several reasons. These are the challenges when introducing updates to the car. There are thousands of reasons why you might or might not be competitive. This [the floor] was a factor, but not the reason for the lack of pace. We’ll 99% continue with the updates on both cars this weekend.”
Williams
As for the lower part of the standings, Williams is the only team to reveal its cards in advance. In the Netherlands, the FW46 will run with the first part of a large update package that has been divided into two. The updates brought to Zandvoort aim to increase aerodynamic load, while the subsequent updates will address the car’s balance. “It’s our first real update this year,” reports Albon. “We’ll see where it takes us. It also ensures a weight gain, which always helps and should bring us a little higher. It’s the first real update in terms of increasing downforce because they are new parts, but to reduce weight from the car.”
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