Motorsport Week
  • Formula 1
    • 2025 Formula 1 Calendar
    • 2025 Formula 1 Standings
  • Formula E
    • 2025 Formula E Calendar
    • 2025 Formula E Standings
  • IndyCar
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WRC
    • 2025 WRC Standings
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
  • MotoGP
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
  • WEC
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • IMSA
    • 2025 IMSA Calendar
  • World SBK
  • More
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • Formula 1
    • 2025 Formula 1 Calendar
    • 2025 Formula 1 Standings
  • Formula E
    • 2025 Formula E Calendar
    • 2025 Formula E Standings
  • IndyCar
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WRC
    • 2025 WRC Standings
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
  • MotoGP
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
  • WEC
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • IMSA
    • 2025 IMSA Calendar
  • World SBK
  • More
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
    • Technical Insight
    • Galleries
    • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Motorsport Week
Home Single Seater Formula 1

Why McLaren is unconcerned about the MCL39’s rear-end instability in F1 testing

by Taylor Powling
6 months ago
A A
McLaren is unconcerned about Lando Norris' report that the MCL39 has an unstable rear end

McLaren is unconcerned about Lando Norris' report that the MCL39 has an unstable rear end

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

McLaren has explained how the “inherent” characteristics of the Bahrain circuit had a role in Lando Norris’ report that the team’s 2025 Formula 1 car is unstable at the rear.

The Woking-based squad concluded pre-season testing regarded as the team in the driving seat as Norris punched in a headline race simulation on the second day.

Norris lapped on average more than five-tenths quicker a lap than his rivals in both the Ferrari and the Mercedes across a comparable race run that spanned three stints.

However, the Briton admitted the MCL39, which includes several innovations to depart from its title-winning predecessor, had an instability on the rear axle through cornering.

RelatedPosts

Lando Norris is refusing to be downcast about his title prospects after losing ground to team-mate Oscar Piastri

Lando Norris won’t dwell on Dutch GP DNF even if it costs him maiden F1 championship

5 hours ago
Oscar Piastri is now 34 points ahead of team-mate Lando Norris in the F1 title race

Why Oscar Piastri ‘doesn’t expect change’ in McLaren F1 title dynamic despite increased lead

5 hours ago

But McLaren boss Andrea Stella was not concerned as he highlighted how the rear-limited nature of the track used for testing exasperated the sliding Norris experienced.

“I think the comment of Lando related to the rear instability, they are fair,” Stella told media including Motorsport Week.

“At the same time, when you come to Bahrain, I would be very, very surprised that you don’t have a rear-end limitation and traction limitation.

“So somehow these limitations are inherent to the circuit at which we are operating.”

Andrea Stella has explained why McLaren experienced issues at the rear with the MCL39 during pre-season testing
Andrea Stella has explained why McLaren experienced issues at the rear with the MCL39 during pre-season testing

McLaren insists instability won’t ‘disappear’ with current cars

Stella revealed McLaren has succeeded in making the MCL39 more predictable, but nervous tendencies will be impossible to eradicate with the current generation cars.

“Definitely, they were an objective of our development and according to what we have seen so far and the data that we had through car development, if anything, we think we have improved from this point of view,” he added.

“But you improve always by a quantity that is never going to make these kinds of problems disappear. 

“The only time in which I saw something changing as dramatically as there are no problems with traction anymore, now the car actually pushes in traction, is when we added the exhaust effect.

“When you go back to 2011-2012, I remember I was at my previous team [Ferrari], we introduced the exhaust effect from one session to the other and the car was like, no problem with traction anymore. It’s a dramatic change of aerodynamic behaviour.

“But within what you can do inside the scope of the regulations, which is fixed, then you’re always going to suffer the same limitation, but ultimately you need to try and reduce those limitations more and more.”

The areas McLaren are striving to improve

Stella divulged that McLaren is also working hard in the background to improve the car’s front-end responsiveness through cornering alongside tempering the rear-end instability.

Asked to expand on Norris’ comments about the car, he replied: “I’m half laughing because the comments were exactly like the rear-end is sliding!

So that was definitely the first thing he said straight. Not only jumping off the car but also during the stints.

“When we were experiencing [tyre] degradation, that was the main mechanism. Like I say, no surprise in Bahrain. 

“But it would be incomplete to say that we only want to improve rear grip in terms of stability in entry and traction.

“We also want to improve the behaviour of the car in mid-corner in terms of front-end. 

“And if anything, these three attributes is what we’ve been trying to improve over these last couple of years. And now we enter the third season.

“And like I said before, you sort of have an aspiration to remove them entirely.

“But in reality, it’s just a game of who mitigate these limitations the most which are inherent to a Formula 1 car and especially to a Formula 1 car in a track with this kind of layout.”

READ MORE – McLaren pinpoints F1 team that could break into leading group during 2025

Tags: F1F1TestingMcLarenStella
Share334Tweet209Share

Related Posts

Lando Norris is refusing to be downcast about his title prospects after losing ground to team-mate Oscar Piastri
Formula 1

Lando Norris won’t dwell on Dutch GP DNF even if it costs him maiden F1 championship

5 hours ago
Oscar Piastri is now 34 points ahead of team-mate Lando Norris in the F1 title race
Formula 1

Why Oscar Piastri ‘doesn’t expect change’ in McLaren F1 title dynamic despite increased lead

5 hours ago
Max Verstappen has warned F1 that potential new race weekend formats moves away from tradition
Formula 1

Max Verstappen warns F1 ‘can’t always be exciting’ amid mooted weekend restructuring

6 hours ago
Load More

Discussion about this post

Upcoming Races

#EventDate
16Italian GP05-07 September
17Azerbaijan GP19-21 September
18Singapore GP03-05 October
19United States GP17-19 October
20Mexico City GP24-26 October

Click here for the full 2025 F1 calendar

Drivers’  Standings

#DriverPts
Oscar Piastri309
Lando Norris275
Max Verstappen205
George Russell184
Charles Leclerc151
Lewis Hamilton109
Andrea Kimi Antonelli64
Alexander Albon64
Nico Hulkenberg37
Isack Hadjar37

Click here for full Drivers’ Standings

Latest Articles

Lando Norris is refusing to be downcast about his title prospects after losing ground to team-mate Oscar Piastri
Formula 1

Lando Norris won’t dwell on Dutch GP DNF even if it costs him maiden F1 championship

September 4, 2025
Oscar Piastri is now 34 points ahead of team-mate Lando Norris in the F1 title race
Formula 1

Why Oscar Piastri ‘doesn’t expect change’ in McLaren F1 title dynamic despite increased lead

September 4, 2025
Max Verstappen has warned F1 that potential new race weekend formats moves away from tradition
Formula 1

Max Verstappen warns F1 ‘can’t always be exciting’ amid mooted weekend restructuring

September 4, 2025

Follow Motorsport Week

Join our daily motorsport newsletter

* indicates required

Motorsport Week

© 2024 Motorsport Media Services Ltd

Other Links

  • About & Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Motorsport Monday

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • Formula 1
    • Latest News
    • 2025 F1 Calendar
    • 2025 F1 Championship Standings
  • Formula E
    • Latest News
    • 2025 FE Calendar
    • 2025 FE Championship Standings
  • MotoGP
    • Latest News
    • 2025 MotoGP Calendar
    • 2025 MotoGP Standings
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
  • WRC
    • Latest News
    • 2025 WRC Calendar
    • 2025 WRC Standings
  • IndyCar
    • Latest News
    • 2025 IndyCar Calendar
    • 2025 IndyCar Standings
  • WEC
    • Latest News
    • 2025 WEC Calendar
  • Live Updates
  • Other
    • IMSA
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • F1 Academy
    • Moto2
    • Moto3
    • World Superbikes
  • Galleries
  • About/Contact
  • Privacy Policy

© 2024 Motorsport Media Services Ltd