Newly-appointed team principal Andreas Seidl announced that a new wind tunnel will be built in Woking, as a part of an ample revamping process aimed at bringing McLaren back to winning ways.

The German broke the news earlier today, after Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz put together McLaren’s best qualifying in 3 years. Having detected that the deficit lies in the aerodynamics for the most part, a boost on the wind tunnel has to be the next move to make. The Woking-based team is currently using Toyota’s wind tunnel facilities in Cologne, hence the need of an independent and full-time available structure.

“The 1.5 seconds we are missing to the top cars or even more depending on the race track is simply aero load- Seidl explained- This is what we are working on, day and night back home in the factory, trying also to set up the car in the right window to use the downforce we developed in the wind tunnel. I think that's the main area we are working on.”

"One of the biggest tasks I have at the moment from Zak and the shareholders - Sheikh Mohammad and Mansour Ojjeh is to point out the key deficits and weaknesses of the infrastructure, the structure at home, and the structure of working out here at the track.

"One of the big deficits we have clearly is not running our own wind tunnel at Woking, so for almost 10 years we've developed it remotely at Toyota Motorsport in Cologne. So we're very happy that the decision has been made that we install a new wind tunnel in Woking."

McLaren’s wind tunnel, which is expected to be available in two years’ time, will not be solely dedicated to the F1 department, partially escaping the restrictions that will be coming along with the 2021 regulation change. 
 
"It's important to have this wind tunnel at home under your own control, because even with the restrictions that are coming, the more restrictions you have the more important it is to use it in the most efficient way and the most accurate way.”

Seidl regards it as ‘a great message’, since the focus stays on fighting upfront and bouncing back from the tough times McLaren has gone through.

"It is obviously a great message for everyone inside the team because it also shows how serious Zak and the shareholders are regarding our way back to the front. So great news for everyone inside the team – a big boost for the morale, and it simply fits into the overall positive direction we are taking at the moment inside the team."

You may also be interested in: https://www.motorlat.com/notas/f1/11668/sainz-mclaren-039-s-3rd-row-lockout-a-039-consequence-of-hard-work-039