2019 tech verdict: McLaren on the road to recovery

Join us as we delve into Giorgio Piola’s 2019 archive and bring you insight into the relentless development undertaken by the teams throughout a season in the pursuit of more performance. In today’s gallery we will focus on… McLaren.

With its Honda nightmare firmly in the rear-view mirror, McLaren built upon the foundations of its Renault-powered era with a much-improved 2019 season that resulted in a best-of-the-rest position behind the big three teams. Team newcomer Carlos Sainz scored his first F1 podium (and the team’s first since 2014) in the Brazilian Grand Prix, and followed that up by sealing sixth in the drivers’ championship in Abu Dhabi.

Rookie Lando Norris backed up Sainz, and even out-qualified him over the season. New team principal Andreas Siedl and technical director James Key pushed the team in its positive direction, along with performance director Andrea Stella. Steady developments allowed the chassis to achieve its full potential across the year, while the change in Pirelli tyre specification also seemed to play into its hands in terms of car performance.

Click on the arrows on the images below to scroll through them…