The McLaren MCL36 is a Formula One car that was designed under the lead of James Key and manufactured by McLaren to compete in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. The MCL36 was built to the new 2022 generation of Formula One technical regulations, which were originally intended for introduction in . The car was widely considered to exhibit conventional and unambitious engine packaging. However, it stood out for a unique suspension layout not seen on any Formula One car for nearly ten years, and was noted for its lack of porpoising and good mechanical reliability.
The car made its début at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix, and was driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris in their second and fourth years for the team, respectively. The car achieved two fastest laps and one podium finish over the course of the season, all scored by Norris. The MCL36 was the only car (and Norris the only driver) from outside the top three teams to finish on the podium in the 2022 season. However, the MCL36 is generally seen as a disappointment compared to its predecessor, the accomplished MCL35M, with inconsistent performance and a narrow operating window. Ricciardo's continued underperformance compared to Norris was also considered a significant contributing factor in McLaren's loss to Alpine in a season-long fight for fourth place in the World Constructors' Championship.
Background
Development context
McLaren's switch to Mercedes engines was meant to coincide with the new technical regulations and was therefore contracted for 2021. Planning for the new regulations started in early 2019 and active development of the car started in 2020 before the 2021 regulations change was postponed. This postponement was intended to reduce financial pressures on teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while teams' 2020 chassis were to be reused in 2021. Hence, McLaren's switch to Mercedes power units occurred with the MCL36's predecessor, the MCL35M.
Aerodynamic development of all teams' 2022 cars was paused from 28 March 2020 until 31 December 2020 because of the postponement of the regulatory change. McLaren restarted development in early January 2021 with aerodynamic testing. Manufacturing of some components, mainly chassis and gearbox parts, was underway by July 2021.
Initial design and development Key was originally hired by McLaren from Toro Rosso in early 2019, when the MCL34 had already been designed and manufactured. Although he designed the MCL35 and the MCL35M upgrade, the MCL36 was Key's first completely original car for the team. Key called the development of the 2022 car's larger and less intricate surfaces a significant departure from the more specific and detailed development allowed in previous years.
By October 2021, the car was being run on the McLaren simulator. Norris termed it "not as nice" to drive, but was hesitant to draw conclusions before the physical car was complete given the rapid progress in 2022 designs. The chassis passed FIA homologation tests in early December 2021. Key stated that McLaren's primary goal was to produce a more balanced car that performed better in low-speed corners compared to the MCL35 and MCL35M, both of which lacked low-speed performance despite good high-speed cornering.
At its launch, the car was noted for its conventional tight packaging of the engine and its reversing of the typical suspension layout: the MCL36 featured pull-rod front suspension and push-rod rear suspension, a layout not seen on any Formula One car since on the McLaren MP4-28. This change maximised the downforce produced by the Venturi and ground effects by allowing unimpeded airflow in and out of the car's air inlets, increasing the volume of air moved through the floor. The floor featured an L-shaped edge wing and a ridged underfloor which was eventually emulated by other teams, most notably on the Ferrari F1-75.
Liveries
The MCL36 featured more vibrant, fluorescent shades of papaya orange and blue. The change was inspired after the MCL35M's one-off Gulf livery, featuring similar shades, received a very positive fan reaction. McLaren introduced a special livery in collaboration with sponsor OKX for the Singapore and Japanese Grands Prix. The livery featured new cyberpunk-themed illustrations and replaced the blue highlights with neon pink. A second special livery was used for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in collaboration with Vuse. As with the livery for the previous year's race, the car featured the artwork of an emerging artist, which on this occasion was Lebanese artist Anna Tangles.
Competition and development history
Pre-season During the first three-day test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, many teams experienced porpoising on their cars (resonation of the car due to the ground effect, making the car rock rapidly) which posed a driveability and reliability issue. Uniquely, the MCL36 did not appear to exhibit any issues with porpoising, although Key said "We suffer from it a bit, but it's not a major concern or a major distraction for the drivers." The lack of porpoising was partly linked to the MCL36's edge wing (an aerodynamic component on the outer edge of the car's floor). The solution was copied by several other teams over the course of the season. During the test, the team was forced to fit the most aggressive cooling options to the car's brakes, which was not expected to be needed until the second round of testing in the more demanding Bahraini conditions.
After the first round of testing, the car was generally expected to be competitive and enable McLaren to join a group of front-running teams. However, the second test at Bahrain International Circuit in higher temperatures exposed an issue with the MCL36's brakes, preventing the team from completing any long-run tests. As the team later put it, they "simply didn't have a cooling package big enough to cope" with the hotter conditions in Bahrain. Ricciardo tested positive to COVID-19 and was required to isolate, preventing him from completing any of his test program and leaving Norris to complete the test alone. The team said they had been unable to "do any optimization" to the car at the Bahrain test.
Opening rounds McLaren introduced an "interim solution" to its front brake issues for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The team was disappointed in its performance, as neither car made it to the final stage of qualifying: Norris qualified thirteenth and Ricciardo eighteenth. Key said the car was performing as the team expected and the drivers were finding it a more consistent and predictable car, but that the MCL36 lacked aerodynamic and mechanical grip. Ricciardo finished fourteenth and Norris fifteenth. Ricciardo stated that he had treated the race as a test session in an attempt to recover time he had lost in the pre-season test. The result placed the team ninth in the Constructors' Championship (WCC).
No upgrades were made to the car at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, as parts were delayed to prioritise the front brake cooling solution. Norris qualified eleventh and Ricciardo twelfth, but the latter started fourteenth after receiving a grid penalty. Norris finished seventh, battling for sixth place on the final lap. Ricciardo did not finish the race, retiring with undiagnosed mechanical issues. Norris improved to tenth and Ricciardo fell to nineteenth in the Drivers' Championship (WDC), while the team improved to eighth in the WCC.
The team introduced an aerodynamic upgrade to the area around the rear brakes for the Australian Grand Prix, to improve the wake produced by the tyres and diffuser. Norris qualified fourth and Ricciardo qualified seventh, and finished fifth and sixth, respectively. The team improved to fourth in the WCC, and Norris to eighth and Ricciardo to eleventh in the WDC.
The MCL36 featured a new beam wing for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Qualifying was wet, and Norris qualified third and Ricciardo sixth for the sprint. The drivers finished the sprint in fifth and sixth respectively. The race started in wet conditions, and out of the second corner, Ricciardo understeered into Sainz, ending the latter's race. Ricciardo suffered diffuser damage, and finished eighteenth. Norris made his way back up to third by the end of the first lap, but was overtaken by Leclerc and ran in fourth for most of the race, managing his gap to fifth place comfortably. In the closing laps, Leclerc bounced over a curb and had a mild collision with the barriers, allowing Norris to inherit third place. Norris improved to sixth in the WDC. The MCL36 was the only car (and Norris the only driver) from outside the top three teams (Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes) to finish on the podium in the 2022 season.
The car's front suspension was strengthened for reliability and an additional floor stay was added to minimise porpoising in upgrades introduced at the Miami Grand Prix. Norris qualified eighth and Ricciardo fourteenth for the race. During the race, Norris was involved in a collision with Pierre Gasly whose AlphaTauri AT03 had suffered steering damage. Both retired from the race. Ricciardo finished eleventh but was demoted to thirteenth by a time penalty for overtaking off-track. Norris fell to seventh in the WDC.
McLaren introduced a total of ten upgrades for the Spanish Grand Prix, which consisted of changes to various aerodynamic parts, brakes, and suspension. Ricciardo likened the Friday practice running to winter testing given the quantity of changes. Ricciardo qualified ninth, and Norris, who lost a lap time due to a track limits violation, qualified eleventh. Norris, despite suffering from tonsillitis, finished eighth. Ricciardo finished twelfth.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, McLaren ran the car with extra cooling on the front brakes and different steering geometry and rear-view mirrors to account for the nature of the Circuit de Monaco. Norris and Ricciardo qualified fifth and fourteenth respectively. In a rain affected race, Norris finished sixth and set the fastest lap, and Ricciardo finished twelfth.
Mid-season rounds The MCL36 was run with a track-specific aero kit to reduced load and more cooling options for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Norris qualified for the race eleventh and Ricciardo twelfth, and finished ninth and eighth respectively. Team orders were used twice in the race, first to keep Ricciardo behind Norris in the early stages and then to keep Norris behind Ricciardo in the final laps. The team's strategy was criticized for being ineffective and compromising both drivers' pace. Ricciardo fell to thirteenth in the WDC.
For the Canadian Grand Prix, McLaren updated the rear wing assembly for aerodynamic efficiency and changed the location of the floor stay for better stiffness. Norris suffered a power unit issue during qualifying which prevented him from setting a time in the second stage. He started fourteenth, while Ricciardo qualified ninth. During the first virtual safety car, Ricciardo was ninth and Norris twelfth, when McLaren attempted to double-stack a pit stop. After a slow stop for Ricciardo, the pit crew fitted the wrong tyres to Norris's car before correcting the mistake. Ricciardo exited twelfth and Norris eighteenth, and they finished eleventh and fifteenth respectively after both cars suffered brake issues in the final stages of the race.
McLaren announced ahead of the British Grand Prix that the MCL36 would not receive further major upgrades due to the budget cap. Instead, only minor technical updates would be provided. Norris qualified for the race sixth; and held fifth in the race until losing the position in the pits during the final safety car, finishing sixth. Ricciardo qualified fourteenth, but restarted twelfth after the red flag caused by Zhou Guanyu's first lap incident. A failure of the drag reduction system on his MCL36 necessitated an extra stop, and Ricciardo finished the race thirteenth. The result dropped Ricciardo to fourteenth in the WDC.