McLaren cautions Baku upgrade 'not enough' to propel the team to where it wants to be 

Despite the fact that McLaren are bringing major upgrade parts to the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP, team principal Andrea Stella admits that it won't be enough for the team to reach their goals this season.

The orange British team has taken a huge step backwards in terms of performance, especially when compared to last season. They are currently sitting dead last in the constructors' table.

According to Motorsport.com, Stella admitted that the upgrade McLaren is bringing to the Azerbaijan GP will not be enough to propel the team into the desired position. He wants his team to be in the top four, which would require many other upgrades throughout the season.

The Italian said:

"When it comes to the Baku upgrade, we do see the numbers, which are promising. Hopefully, from sixth, it will allow us to be fifth. It’s not enough yet to achieve our objective for the season, which is to become a top-four car. This will require the Baku upgrade and we require another couple of upgrades following Baku on which we are working."

Later on, Stella explained that McLaren's MCL60 is mainly suffering from aerodynamic efficiency. He dove deep into the matter and revealed that the ratio between downforce and drag is not high enough, which is hampering the overall pace.

Stella said:

"In terms of weaknesses of the car, we talk about aerodynamic efficiency. Not necessarily this means the car is draggy. Simply the ratio between downforce and drag is not as high as we would like. That’s the main weakness."

During the pre-season testing and Bahrain GP, McLaren suffered from weak wheel brows.

Furthermore, the MCL60's underbody concept did not agree with the increased ride height that was imposed by the FIA to reduce porpoising. All these problems are making it extremely difficult for the British team to aim for a top-four finish.

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Lando Norris admits that McLaren were the worst in the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP

Though McLaren were slightly better in the 2023 F1 Saudi Arabian GP compared to Bahrain GP, Lando Norris was not happy with the overall performance of the team and the car. He stated that they were the worst on the grid, slower in both corners and straights.

The Brit said:

"I definitely think we are worst today. Our strengths and weaknesses clearly just aren't in the right places. I don't even say we're good in the corners but we're way too slow in the straights. We can't use what we have in the corners at high speed so I can get close but we just can't do anything more than that."

Lando Norris finished 17th while his new teammate Oscar Piastri ended up in 15th. Following the race, McLaren are last in the constructors' championship.