The 2023 season completely changed everyone’s perspective around McLaren. The Woking outfit’s mid-season changes put them in the thick of things at the top. However, the issue with McLaren wasn’t a lack of facilities, talent, or knowledge, it was their tardiness. The team back in Woking was late in meeting their developmental targets, which were introduced mid-season. The upgrades, if completed on time and introduced on time, McLaren could’ve made more progress in 2023. Heading into the new season on the back of such a powerful finish, McLaren hasn’t learned its lesson.

The team did a surprise virtual livery launch for the 2024 season in January. However, today is the day the team put the physical car in front of the world and on the track. Speaking during the lunch, team boss Andrea Stella shared some words of appreciation but also highlighted the concerning reality of the new car. He revealed how there are still components and areas that need to be worked on before the season opener in Bahrain.

Stella began, “Before we hit the track for competitive sessions, we have a lot of work to do, including putting the MCL38 through its paces during the Bahrain pre-season test. The team has done a good job over the winter, and we are confident we can hit the ground running, but we know we have important tasks at hand before the season starts.”

“There are a number of innovations on the car, but not all the areas we want to address have been completed for our launch-spec car. Those areas now become the focus of our in-season development, which is already in progress,” he added.

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Has McLaren failed to meet their developmental deadlines again? This puts the Woking outfit at a disadvantage again from the start as they will continue to play catchup. Now that we think about it, even the CEO’s comments feel pessimistic.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown is confident in the MCL38 but fears Red Bull’s progress

The CEO also spoke to the media ahead of McLaren’s physical car launch. In his statement, Zak Brown seemed more confident in the capabilities of his team. However, his outlook toward his rivals, especially Red Bull, lacked confidence. Brown showcased concerns about Red Bull’s jumpstart on the developmental front and if the MCL38 would be able to compete with the RB20.

He said, “We like what we’re seeing in the wind tunnel and CFD at the moment. So we feel like we’re going to take a step forward. The great mystery on Red Bull is when did they turn off the development of their [2023] car? I think the answer is probably pretty early, so we’ll just have to wait and see how much Adrian Newey magic comes out of the oven, so to speak.”

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Cautiously optimistic? Because in this brutal world of F1, everyone is held against their claims. Perhaps why the McLaren bosses are taking a cautious approach and keeping expectations low. However, the truth will reveal itself in less than a month. So now we wait and see if McLaren will be able to meet their targets.