The underlying upgrade that boosted McLaren's performance jump

McLaren’s win in Zandvoort, their second in a row after Budapest, highlighted a key point: the updates introduced on either side of the summer break did more than restore the aerodynamic load the car had been missing. They also enabled the team to take a decisive step forward.

At the Barcelona Grand Prix, for instance, McLaren’s strengths had already begun to emerge, and the same was true.