McLaren are now heading in the right direction after losing its way over the past few seasons according to chief engineer Peter Prodromou.
Whilst the team remain at the back of the grid, largely in part due to the Honda engine, the aerodynamic’s of the MP4-30 are at least showing positive progression following a change in concept.
“Over the last couple of seasons, the team slightly lost its way aerodynamically,” said the former Red Bull designer. “It became obvious that if we’d carried on with the previous concept, there’d only be so much we could achieve.
“So we’ve begun to establish a new aerodynamic concept, and a different way of working, too. That new concept has majorly shaped where the team’s heading in the future.”
Racing director Eric Boullier says that has now resulted in more accurate upgrades which work almost immediately, unlike the hit-and-miss path they had previously experienced.
“There’s been a huge change in overall culture and philosophy,” he added. “At every level of the company, there is clear leadership. We agree the direction we want to pursue, and we bring people with us.
“The attitude has changed from ‘telling’ people, to ‘asking’ people; we’ve integrated people, and we share opinions and ideas.
“I guess about 50 per cent of the upgrades we brought to the track last year didn’t completely work; this year, we’ve brought that down to about five or 10 per cent.”
Director of engineering, Matt Morris, is hopeful that by developing the MP4-30 until the very end of the season, it will benefit them next year.
“The 2016 regulations aren’t significantly changing – and we’re not going through the process of introducing a new engine, as we’ve done for the last two years [V8 to V6 and Mercedes to Honda], so we’ll keep developing.
“A lot of what we learn at the track this year will naturally evolve into next year’s car.”
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