> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Gary Anderson's verdict on McLaren's 2027-leaning upgrade - URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/gary-anderson-verdict-on-mclaren-2027-leaning-upgrade/ - Published: 2026-11-07T10:54:21.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-07T10:54:21.000Z - Description: Ex-F1 technical director Gary Anderson gives his view on McLaren's Brazil upgrade - Author: Gary Anderson - Tags: Formula 1, #mclaren, #brazilian-grand-prix, #primary_homepage_feature No team wants to show its dirty washing in public, so McLaren calling its new front wing effectively a [2027 concept](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/mclaren-2027-f1-front-wing-breaks-cover-in-brazil/) seems strange. In that position, assuming the numbers on track and the simulation tools show it has potential, I’d be using it now and considering it very much a 2026 part. With (perhaps) four races remaining and roughly five months before the start of next season, I’d be learning as much as possible from it and would hopefully make a step or two as a result of it before next season kicks off. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dd/af/ddafbd99-2ccd-468c-b622-4b3cccf80b49/content/images/2026/11/front-wing.png) The intersection between the mainplane and the lower foot of the endplate, highlighted with the red ellipse, is what caught my eye. Red Bull started the season with this concept, and Mercedes and others have followed. Making it more of a single lower surface reduces the sensitivity of the endplate footplate to the track, so in high-speed corners the front of the car should produce more consistent downforce. Basically, it should feel less snatchy, making the rear of the car more stable. The slot gap profile between the forward and central elements, highlighted with the green arrow, has also been altered. This is in line with the profile change highlighted with the light blue arrow and the positioning of the longest chord section of the third element. With that section slightly more inboard, this will alter where the mass flow reaches the leading edge of the floor. What confuses me a little is the change from reducing the angle of the second and third elements in straight mode to reducing only the angle of the third when straight mode is activated. It means that the front wing is less powerful in corner mode, but that comes at the expense of overall downforce. When the wing is in cornering mode (max downforce), the low pressure on the lower surface will pull more of its airflow through the slot gap between the first and second elements. To compensate for this, McLaren has reduced the chord length of the mainplane, highlighted with the green arrow, and increased the chord length of the second element, highlighted with the light blue arrow. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dd/af/ddafbd99-2ccd-468c-b622-4b3cccf80b49/content/images/2026/11/fw-2.png) Mounting the wing on the second element, as highlighted with the red ellipse is sensible with this concept as it’s the best stiffness-to-weight compromise, but only if you don’t use the mid-flap as part of the straight-line mode wing angle reduction. So perhaps that, together with the fact that the car seems to be struggling with the balance between low- to medium-speed corners and high-speed corners, has led McLaren to this concept. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/dd/af/ddafbd99-2ccd-468c-b622-4b3cccf80b49/content/images/2026/11/highlighted-comparison-rear-wing-McLaren-brazil.jpg) There are also small additions to the rear wing trailing edge, highlighted with the green arrows. I can’t really see enough to tell if it’s a completely new package, but I’ve highlighted the small additions. These will improve the airflow on the wing’s underside, which is affected by the twin mounting pillars. A small airflow separation problem behind those mountings can very easily spread across a much wider section of the wing’s underside.McLaren has also declared a new diffuser and a re-profiled rear beam wing. This year the beam wing has a much shorter chord than in previous seasons, but it’s still very powerful when it comes to improving the performance of the diffuser. I don’t have the visual information to go into much detail on the diffuser. It’s basically the component that has a major influence on the overall performance of the car, so teams tend to keep these components well hidden. "The upgrades, even though I had half and then half, and we’re going to put everything together for tomorrow, the upgrades seem to have given what we hoped for, I would say," was Lando Norris's early verdict on Friday. "Ultimately, the upgrades are there to bring laptime and bring performance. They’re not set out just to improve handling. A perfect upgrade is one that brings laptime and at the same time brings a handling upgrade, especially with how tricky the car’s been. "I would say maybe there’s a small change in the right direction; it seems just a little bit more straightforward to drive. "But I don’t think we can ever judge things over just one track. But so far, for today, things have seemed a little bit more straightforward, which is a good thing." Let’s see how it all performs when it matters on Saturday and Sunday and if McLaren keeps all these components on the car as the weekend progresses.