McLaren new nose box fails FIA crash tests

The centrepiece of McLaren's aerodynamic upgrade for the Austrian grand prix next weekend is yet to receive the green light. Montreal was a notably bleak weekend for the Honda-powered team, but the bright side was that a raft of improvements are in the pipeline for Austria. "There is a new engine package, a lot of things coming for Austria," confirmed Jenson Button. "It will be very different apart from the colour scheme."

Indeed, teams have been increasingly turning towards the so-called 'short nose' aerodynamic concept in 2015. But Red Bull, for one, faced a long delay in getting its version over the hurdle of the FIA's mandatory crash tests. And international reports this week claim the 'short nose' concept for McLaren's MP4-30 has now failed the front-end tests up to five separate times.

The latest failure was reportedly at the UK's Cranfield facility last week. A McLaren spokesman told us: "Some significant aero updates require crash testing. They rarely pass their crash tests first time around. We are confident that our new nose box will pass its crash test in the near future," he added. (GMM)

Replies (0)

Login to reply

AZ Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

AZAzerbaijan Grand Prix

Local time 

Test calendar

See full test schedule

World Championship standings 2026

Show full world champion standings

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
6 - Mar 8
Australia
13 - Mar 15
China
27 - Mar 29
Japan
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
1 - May 3
United States of America
22 - May 24
Canada
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
12 - Jun 14
Spain
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2026

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
10 - Apr 12
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
5 - Jun 7
Monaco Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team McLaren
  • Points 37
  • Podiums 0
  • Grand Prix 41
  • Country GB
  • Date of b. Jan 19 1980 (46)
  • Place of b. Frome, Somerset, GB
  • Weight 72 kg
  • Length 1.82 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar