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The influences of Mercedes on McLaren's 2021 challenger

McLaren is the first Formula 1 team to show its hand with a Mercedes-powered iteration of the MCL35 that helped it to finish third in 2020. But its engine isn't the only area where McLaren has taken inspiration from the reigning champion

Orange you glad it's launch season? To kick the 2021 Formula 1 season off, McLaren has pulled the robes off its papaya-draped MCL35M to begin the chain of unveilings due over the coming weeks. With it, the team has yielded the first clues to how each outfit will contend with improving last year's models for a new season.

Fittingly, it's the Woking team that had the most to do over the previous months in preparation for 2021. The second "M" in its chassis designation, of course, refers to the team's remarriage to Mercedes for its powertrain following dalliances with Honda and Renault, and so the chassis has had to be reworked to reflect that change. After all, one does not drop in an F1 powertrain at the last minute; every single component is one with the rest of the package.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.