As Motorsport.com Italia reports, McLaren has rolled out a heavily revised MCL40 machine in Baku, executing the next phase of a three-stage development plan with the explicit goal of hunting down Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes. This package completely transforms the look of the papaya car.
Crafted by the staff of Rob Marshall, the updates attack two traditionally conflicting goals at once: boosting downforce while hacking away at aerodynamic drag. The most striking visual shift hits the radiators. Moving away from the traditional, generous triangular shape, the new inlet draws inspiration from the Audi R26 concept, shrinking down into a trapezoidal surface.
Inside, the internal fluid dynamics have been entirely re-engineered. The Mercedes M17 E Performance power unit receives the exact same cooling capacity as before, but with radically lower resistance. That smaller intake opens up the flanks, allowing for a deeper undercut and amplified outwash effect, while the sidepod itself drops its curved upper profile for a much more flared and shrunken surface area.
Because internal airflow volume has shifted, the engine cover features fresh heat outlets, sporting two small vents over the mid-section alongside a prominent opening on the engine cover itself. Further back, the carbon-fiber fairings on the rear suspension wishbones sport revised geometries, feeding clean air into a reworked diffuser designed to maximize the new floor.
That floor features a redesigned floor edge ahead of the rear wheels, evolving a concept first introduced by Mercedes in Canada. What was once a single diagonal element is now split into two shaped flaps that enhance outwash in a crucial zone of the car. Up top, the airbox drops its old ogival design for a rounded, triangular shape inspired by the Red Bull RB22, aimed at feeding cleaner air to the central portion of the rear wing, while the dorsal fin on the engine cover now boasts a smooth, continuous curve.
Capping off the entire setup is a new rear wing featuring reversible flaps—an evolution of the H version seen at Monza—engineered to slash drag when opened in Straight Line Mode, while the endplates feature a high-downforce configuration with three distinct three-dimensional profiles.
