The Woking-based squad admitted at the launch of its new MCL60 that it had not hit the performance targets it wanted with its 2023 challenger and was working on a major overhaul.
The result of those efforts has now appeared in Baku, with a raft of tweaks aimed at both improving the car and making it better suited to the low-drag demands of the high-speed street circuit.
According to the team, the new floor geometry significantly alters local suction distribution as well as floor structure strength and positioning, resulting in an overall gain of load.
McLaren is also introducing a new lower drag rear wing, with an offloaded mainplane and flap, plus options for further trim adjustments.
There are also new beam wing elements that has been tweaked to further reduce drag, with the team having admitted that the car was lacking aerodynamic efficiency.
While McLaren says the Baku upgrades are just the first step in a comprehensive revamp of the car, Lando Norris says they should put the team in a performance window that it should have been at the start of the campaign.
“What we have now is what we should have started the year with,” he said. “A lot of other teams also have upgrades so our job is to try and bring slightly bigger things and try to play a little bit of catch up.
“I think what we have this weekend is just the baseline we should have started the year with. It's about understanding that what we have now is a better baseline and gives more room for improvements. It's certainly going to make us take a small step forward."
Some of McLaren’s main competitors have also introduced upgrades for this weekend’s race in Baku too.
Alpine is introducing a new floor which the team says has a different pressure distribution to improve downforce levels. Both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly will have use of it.
As well as that, Alpine has revised the angle of incident of its front top wishbone fairing, as well as tweaking the suspension leg fairings and rear brake drum flick.
Like other teams, Alpine has also tweaked its rear wing to help reduce drag for Baku’s long straights, as well as revised its front wing flaps.
Alfa Romeo has introduced new front wing flap profiles, a rear wing with a shorter chord and adopted a bi-plane beam wing to reduce drag.
Aston Martin has also chased top speed improvements with a revised rear wing that features smaller upper elements compared to those used so far this season.
