Andrea Stella comments on McLaren’s decision to test new updates at British GP instead of Spa

Andrea Stella and Co. brought a new upgrade at the 2025 British GP, ran the same during the practice, but not during the race. The McLaren Boss came out after the race weekend and revealed why the new upgrades were tested at the British GP, and not at the next race, i.e., the Belgian GP.

McLaren brought a new, revised floor to Silverstone and tested the same during the FP1 session. After the session, the team reverted to the previous iteration of the floor for the remaining practice sessions, qualifying, and the race. The Papaya team, despite losing the pole position to Max Verstappen, finished 1-2 at Silverstone.

After the race, Andrea Stella spoke with the media and detailed the team's decision to test the new floor during the FP1 session at Silverstone. Using a session to test an upgrade usually puts teams at a disadvantage for the remainder of the race weekend, as the session is used for data collection for the new part.

F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain - Source: Getty

However, Andrea Stella crucially explained how the Belgian GP is going to be a Sprint race weekend, meaning just one practice session for the team, hence the decision to test the new upgrade at Silverstone was taken. What also would've helped is the fact that McLaren’s headquarters in Woking are less than two hours away from the Silverstone circuit.

“With the new floor in free practice 1, the plan was always going to be that the floor was a test floor. [It is so we can get an] early read of this new specification, because the next race is a sprint event where it is more difficult to introduce a new specification, and make proper comparisons,” said Andrea Stella. “We are actually pretty pleased with what we have seen in free practice 1. All the indications are leading us to introduce this new floor at upcoming events,” added the McLaren Boss. (Via Racingnews365)

Ferrari also tested their new rear suspension at the Mugello test on July 17, a week before the Belgium GP, possibly to get an early read of the data, and to properly execute the Sprint weekend at Spa Francorchamps.

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Upgrades brought by Andrea Stella and Co. to the MCL39 at the British GP

The Woking-based team brought a new, completely revised floor and a brake duct upgrade at the 2025 British GP. Andrea Stella’s camp declared the same in the technical declaration (TD), as detailed in the changes made.

The TD for the upgraded floor read,

"The complete floor has been revised resulting in improved flow conditioning and a redistribution of suction to gain overall aerodynamic performance.”“Local flow conditioning for improved aerodynamic and brake cooling performance,” read the brake duct TD.

McLaren had also introduced new suspension upgrades for Lando Norris a couple of race weekends ago, with adjustments to the steering’s kingpin inclination (KPI) to help the British driver with a better feel of what the tires were doing.

Edited by Mitali