McLaren has become the latest team to unveil a new car for 2022, and on Friday night, the MCL36 was already on display to the world.
Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo attended the press conference and they hope the car will continue their recent upward trajectory in F1, where they have firmly re-established their lead in midfield over the past few seasons.
However, the new rules provide a blank list for all participating teams, meaning their pace relative to their opponents will be completely unknown until they start pre-season testing in Barcelona on February 23.
Norris and Ricciardo have formed a constant squad of drivers for the team in 2022, and Norris has already signed a new four-year contract this week that will allow him to stay at McLaren at least until 2025.
McLaren chief executive Zach Brown has tried to reduce the likelihood of the team taking the lead in 2022, telling the media recently: "We need to be careful not to raise expectations to unrealistic levels. "However, there is still optimism within the team about the upcoming season.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Norris said: "This is a new opportunity for us as drivers to show our skills because I think there has to be a difference in driving style and driving style. It's more of a development race, especially at the beginning of the new rule. ”
Papaya orange and bay blue on the MCL36 livery have been slightly modified and added black.
At the press conference, CEO Brown said: "It's fantastic to see how excited the fans are as they prepare to join us on their next journey. Our F1 team has come a long way under the helm of Andreas Saidel, and this era of new rules represents a real opportunity for the team. Lando made great strides in the 2021 season, finishing fourth of the year. Daniel's thrilling victory at Monza gave the team another taste of winning. As we move into 2022, we hope to build on this progress and further narrow the gap with the strongest teams in the first tier. ”
McLaren technical director James Key confirmed that mcLaren's release on Friday was their Barcelona-spec car, although they "hid some details".