McLaren puzzled as to why it has improved more than expected

McLaren has taken a huge step forward this season but is still determining why its gains have been more significant than expected.

The British team is third in the Constructors' Championship and won in Miami with Lando Norris, its first win since 2021.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri delivered second place last time out in Monaco. The team continues escaping the midfield and challenging Ferrari and Red Bull for wins.

Piastri and Norris are expected to be competitive next weekend in Canada, a street circuit where top speed and compliance over the bumps are vital.

McLaren has endured difficult results in Montreal, failing to score a point since Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen's double-points finish in 2014.

Team Principal Andrea Stella is happy with his team's upturn in form, but said McLaren must understand why it has improved.

“What we see and what we expected is just more downforce in all conditions,” Stella said, per motorsport.com. “But the car, compared to what we expected, seems to be well-behaved also in low-speed — possibly slightly more than we anticipated based on our development tools, which is good news.

“But obviously this is something that we need to understand very accurately, so that we have the right information to further develop in this direction, because it seems to be very profitable for lap time and also seems to make us competitive in circuits with low-speed corners.”

McLaren has been competitive on various circuits in 2024, mainly on tracks with lower-speed sections, such as Miami and Monaco.

The British team has a sense of stability with a strong driver lineup, while Ferrari and Red Bull are shuffling key team members on and off the track.

A strong result in Canada could be the perfect boost ahead of Formula 1's return to Europe over the summer, ending a tricky spell in Montreal.