The encouraging signs hidden within McLaren's Baku upgrade

McLaren turned up at Baku with a big upgrade but although its introduction did not go as smoothly as the team’s previous packages – there were some repairs necessary after the first day of practice – the team was satisfied that the changes brought the improvements they sought.

From the outside, it was difficult to judge how big an improvement because the nature of the Baku track was fundamentally unsuited to the McLaren, with the long Caspian ‘straight’ punishing the car’s short gearing and the slow, short corners not playing to the car’s strength in long, fast turns.