McLaren MCL36
The McLaren MCL36 is a Formula One car designed under the lead of James Key and manufactured by McLaren to compete in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. The MCL36 is built to the new 2022 generation of Formula One technical regulations, which were originally intended for introduction in . The car made its début at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, and is driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris in their second and fourth year for the team, respectively. After four rounds, the car has achieved one podium finish at the 2022 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Background. Development  context. McLaren's switch to Mercedes engines was meant to coincide with the new technical regulations and was therefore contracted for 2021. Planning for the new regulations started in early 2019 and active development of the car started in 2020 before the 2021 regulations change was postponed. This postponement was intended to reduce financial pressures on teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while teams' 2020 chassis were to be reused in 2021. Hence, McLaren's switch to Mercedes power units occurred with the MCL36's predecessor, the MCL35M. Aerodynamic development of all teams' 2022 cars was paused from 28 March  2020 until 31 December 2020 because of the postponement of the regulatory change. McLaren restarted development in early January 2021 with aerodynamic testing. Manufacturing of some components, mainly chassis and gearbox parts, was underway by July 2021. Initial design and development. Key was originally hired by McLaren from Toro Rosso in early 2019, when the MCL34 had already been designed and manufactured. Although he designed the MCL35 and the MCL35M upgrade, the MCL36 will be Key's first completely original car for the team. Key has called the development of the 2022 car's larger and less intricate surfaces  a significant departure from the more specific and detailed development allowed in previous years. By October 2021, the car was being run on the McLaren simulator. Norris termed it "not as nice" to drive, but was hesitant to draw conclusions before the physical car was complete given the rapid progress in 2022 designs. The chassis passed FIA homologation tests in early December 2021. Key stated that McLaren's primary goal was to produce a more balanced car that performed better in low-speed corners compared to the MCL35 and MCL35M, both of which lacked low-speed performance despite good  high-speed cornering. At its launch, the car was noted for its conventional tight packaging of the engine and its reversing of the typical suspension layout: the MCL36 features pull-rod front suspension and push-rod rear suspension, a layout not seen in Formula One since on the MP4-28. This change maximises the downforce produced by the Venturi and ground effects by allowing unimpeded airflow in and out of the car's air inlets, increasing the volume of air moved through the floor. Livery. The MCL36 features more vibrant, fluorescent shades of papaya orange and blue. The change was  inspired after the MCL35M's one-off Gulf livery, featuring similar shades, received a very positive fan reaction. Competition and development history. Pre-season. During the first three-day test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, many teams experienced porpoising on their cars (resonation of the car due to the ground effect, making the car rock rapidly) which posed a driveability and reliability issue. Uniquely, the MCL36 did not appear to exhibit any issues with porpoising, although Key said "We suffer from it a bit, but it's not a major concern or a major distraction for the drivers." After  the first round of testing, the car was generally expected to be competitive and allow McLaren to join a group of front-running teams. However, the second test at Bahrain International Circuit in higher temperatures exposed an issue with the MCL36's brakes, preventing the team from completing any long-run tests. Further, Ricciardo tested positive to COVID-19 and was required to isolate, preventing him from completing any of his test program and leaving Norris to complete the test alone. The team said they had been unable to "do any optimization" to the car at the Bahrain test. Opening rounds . McLaren introduced an "interim solution" to its front brake issues for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The team was disappointed in its performance, as neither car made it to the final stage of qualifying: Norris qualified thirteenth and Ricciardo eighteenth. Key said the car was performing as the team expected and the drivers were finding it a more consistent and predictable car, but that the MCL36 lacked aerodynamic and mechanical grip. Ricciardo finished fourteenth and Norris fifteenth. Ricciardo stated that he had treated the race as a test session in an attempt to recover time he had lost in the pre -season test. The result placed the team ninth in the Constructors' Championship (WCC). No upgrades were made to the car at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as parts were delayed to prioritise the front brake cooling solution. Norris qualified eleventh and Ricciardo twelfth, but the latter started fourteenth after receiving a grid penalty. Norris finished seventh, battling for sixth place on the final lap. Ricciardo did not finish the race, retiring with undiagnosed mechanical issues. Norris improved to tenth and Ricciardo fell to nineteenth in the Drivers' Championship (WDC), while the team improved to eighth in the WCC. The team  introduced an aerodynamic upgrade to the area around the rear brakes for the Australian Grand Prix, to improve the wake produced by the tyres and diffuser. Norris qualified fourth and Ricciardo qualified seventh, and finished fifth and sixth, respectively. The team improved to fourth in the WCC, and Norris to eighth and Ricciardo to eleventh in the WDC. The MCL36 featured a new beam wing for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Qualifying was wet, and Norris qualified third and Ricciardo sixth for the sprint. The drivers finished the sprint in fifth and sixth respectively. The race started in wet conditions , and out of the second corner, Ricciardo understeered into Sainz, ending the latter's race. Ricciardo finished eighteenth. Norris made his way back up to third by the end of the first lap, but was overtaken by Leclerc and ran in fourth for most of the race, managing his gap to fifth place comfortably. In the closing laps, Leclerc bounced over a curb and had a mild collision with the barriers, allowing Norris to inherit third place. Norris improved to sixth in the WDC.