McLaren MCL38 Secret Details

McLaren F1’s MCL38 Launch: Secrets Unveiled

15/02/2024

McLaren F1 has admitted to concealing details in the photos of its MCL38, hiding secrets not even revealed during its track appearance at Silverstone.

McLaren outlined the reasons behind opting for a “discreet” launch, concealing elements of their new 2024 F1 car.

Unlike some of their competitors, and in contrast to last season, McLaren’s unveiling of the MCL38 was notably low-key.

Images of the livery were released in January, followed by only a handful of photos of the new car during the official launch on Wednesday. The images were deliberately altered to obscure certain secrets, particularly regarding the floor.

McLaren has yet to share photos of their F1 car during its shakedown at Silverstone, posting only brief video clips on social media.

When asked about the reasoning behind this approach and whether McLaren had many secrets to hide, Lando Norris responded with irony, “Because we can.”

“It’s a performance game, and why would you want to give anything away to our rivals? You’ll see what the car looks like in two weeks, so be patient.”

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His teammate, Oscar Piastri, jokingly added, “At least we showed our car before it hit the track. Unlike some.”

Piastri was referring to Red Bull, which took its RB20 out on Tuesday, two days before its official launch.

“We’ve seen recently that teams have chosen to have a certain style for launching the car, like we did last year, with a live show,” said Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal.

“But we also see that sometimes you might want to opt for more discretion in your car’s launch. I guess these approaches can alternate over time. We’ve moved from last year’s glamour to discretion this year.”

“It’s not just technical; it’s also marketing and business. F1 is a big business, it’s not just technical, and we need to consider all these different approaches.”

When asked how similar the showcased car was to the one at Silverstone the day before, Stella replied, “Quite close. I wouldn’t prepare for anything too shocking at Bahrain. But yes, at least one detail was obscured in the photos. Nothing major.”

Piastri then humorously added, “We’re coming to the first race with rockets on the sidepods!”

McLaren MCL38 Secret Details. McLaren MCL38 Secret Details

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