McLaren were one of the teams tipped to take strides forward when the new regulations were introduced at the beginning of the 2022 season, however the team got off to a miserable start in Bahrain before recovering to eventually finish fifth.
A late charge from the team, helped by a slight resurgence from Daniel Ricciardo, saw the team close the gap to Alpine, but the French team managed to hold on in Abu Dhabi.
2021 saw the introduction of a cost cap, limiting teams to spend no more than $145m over the course of a season, which Red Bull were punished for breaching in that very season with a $7m fine and a ten percent reduction in wind tunnel testing time.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has now suggested that the technical regulations set by the FIA should be relaxed following the introduction of the cost cap, allowing teams to be more creative in their hunt for success.
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“I don’t know why the regulations have to be as tight as they are. I think if you’ve got a cost cap, then there should actually be some more technical freedom withing the cost cap as you are governed,” suggested the American.
“I think then you’d see more innovation and more risk-taking. The cars would look even more different.
“I think we are over-regulated while under the cost cap. If you’ve got the cost cap, I’d almost go the other way, which is do what you want. If you want to have six wheels, have six wheels. But this is how much you have to spend.
“At the moment you’ve got two governances: everything has to look exactly like that, and you cannot spend more than that. Just stop the spend and do what you want.”
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McLaren’s technical development is set to come on leaps and bounds in the coming years, as the team expect their new state-of-the-art wind tunnel facility to be operational within the next year.
The Woking based team will boast an impressive young driver lineup of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in 2023, meaning that McLaren will be able to develop their car alongside their drivers.
Should they not making the sufficient steps forward to compete for race and championship wins in the coming years, McLaren will be at risk of losing Norris, with the rumours of a future Red Bull move heating up in recent weeks.