McLaren is the latest Formula 1 team to reveal its contender for the 2024 season, the new MCL38.
The car will be piloted by returning drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the new season, while Andrea Stella will serve as team principal.
The car features McLaren’s signature papaya orange as its main color theme and combines it with accents in anthracite.
The 2024 F1 cars follow most of the same design rules as the cars that competed last year, and power unit rules have been fixed ahead of new rules being introduced for the 2026 season. A minor change this year is the addition of an additional scoop to help keep the cockpit cool in hot races like those in West Asia.
Oscar Piastri (left) and Lando Norris
F1 cars feature carbon-fiber composite honeycomb structures for the chassis, and hybrid power units combining a turbocharged 1.6-liter V-6 and two motor-generators, one on the driveline and another integrated with the turbo, for a peak output of around 1,000 hp. McLaren uses a power unit supplied by Mercedes-Benz AMG.
McLaren said it developed some innovations for the MCL38, though not all of these will be ready at launch. Some will be developed during the season and added later as upgrades, the team said.
McLaren’s performance last season was one of the big surprises, as the team enjoyed a huge resurgence in performance starting midway through the season. After failing to make headway in the first half, Norris and Piastri were near the front of the pack in many of the races in the second half and were on the podium on multiple occasions.
The MCL38 is scheduled to make an initial shakedown at the Silverstone Circuit later today and will join the rest of the 2024 fleet at the Bahrain International Circuit on Feb. 21 for pre-season testing. The first race of the season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, will take place at the same location on March 2. A record 24 races is on the calendar this year.
