F1: McLaren Unleashes Bold MCL36 With Pull Rod Suspension For 2022 F1 Season

McLaren was always going to be one of the teams from who some bold inventiveness was on the cards for the 2022 season - and it has delivered. The MCL26, its challenger for the 2022 world title, has been developed on the back three impressive seasons where it has come twice P4 in the constructor's championship and once P3. It is also the first car fully developed under the eye of its technical director James Key and it is striking.

The MCL36 represents a bold interpretation of the ground effect aerodynamic rules that the FIA has prescribed for the new era of Formula 1 which enables better overtaking. It becomes the first of the four cars revealed to have a pull rod suspension on the front and a pushrod design on the rear. It also has really aggressively packaged side pods in an absolute contradiction to what Aston Martin has unveiled considering the two teams will be running the same new Mercedes power plant.

The MCL36 becomes the first 2022 car to feature a pull rod suspension on the front
Photo Credit: McLaren

The car was launched at the Woking factory in the presence of Lando Norris who has recently renewed his contract till the end of 2025 and also Daniel Ricciardo who also is slated to stay till the end of 2023. Of course, team principal Andreas Seidl and McLaren racing CEO Zak Brown were also present.

There is also a new livery which takes a page out of the one-off special Monaco GP livery with Gulf oil, which shades of blue added to the papaya of McLaren with more black shade mixed in as well. McLaren also showed off its 2022 Indy Car vehicle and also launched its Extreme E car as well.

"I'm delighted to see us launch all three McLaren Racing programmes across the Formula 1, IndyCar and Extreme E championships today. This is a first for us as a team, and in the wider world of motorsport, and it's been fantastic to see how excited the fans have been as they get ready to join us on the next part of our journey," said CEO Zak Brown.

"Our Formula 1 team continues to make great progress year-on-year with Andreas Seidl [team principal] at the helm, and this new era of regulations represents a real opportunity for the team. I'm excited to see Lando and Daniel get behind the wheel of the MCL36 and take it to the competition this year. Lando made great progress in 2021, scoring four podiums, and Daniel's sensational victory in Monza reminded the team what it feels like to win again. As we head into 2022, we're looking to build on that progress and further close the gap to the teams at the front," added team principal Andreas Seidl.

The MCL36 features an aggressively packaged engine
Photo Credit: McLaren

McLaren joins Aston Martin is launching a full 2022 car in the flesh unlike what Haas did with the VF-22 and to an extent what Red Bull did with the RB18.

Its technical director James Key was elated about this fact and said, "can be proud of presenting a real car because it absolutely is. It's the car we'll be taking to Barcelona. Yes, we've hidden a few bits and pieces for obvious reasons, there are some sensitive areas, but that will all be seen when we're running the car."