However, it all went very wrong at the start as brake problems in pre-season testing and the opening round in Bahrain left it struggling for pace. While it managed to make a recovery, the team openly admitted that the 'aftershock' of the Sakhir troubles was felt for months.
Tracking McLaren's car development, it was clear progress was not as quick as it had perhaps hoped because resources were focused on problem-solving.
Nevertheless, there were some encouraging performances throughout.
The MCL36's nose and front wing assembly saw the mainplane set forward from the nose tip and arched downward in the central section (red arrow).
The initial floor layout of the MCL36 featured a sidewall for the tunnel entrance that was displaced from the side of the chassis (red arrows), creating a central furrow for the centreline airflow to make its way topside. This obviously reduced the width of the underfloor tunnel entrances but McLaren clearly felt this novel approach could bear fruit.
Having set the pace, relatively speaking, at the first test/shakedown in Barcelona, McLaren immediately struggled when it arrived in Bahrain thanks to a brake issue.
It quickly became apparent that the internal disc brake fairing it plumbed for wasn't able to cater for the higher temperatures, and a temporary fix had to be employed. The metal version of the fairing remained in place for several races thereafter too, as the team worked on a long-term solution.
McLaren's edge wing solution was also under the spotlight in Barcelona, as some questioned its legality, even though it was well within the bounds of the new regulations. The elongated L-shaped floor appendage was quickly copied by Ferrari too, as it saw the merits of the design.
The floor's edge was one of constant evolution for all of the teams, with McLaren having extended its edge wing forward and added three flow-diverting strikes to the now scrolled forward section in readiness for the first race.
A small change was made to the rear brake duct's lower winglet fence at the Australian Grand Prix as the team looked to optimise the airflow's passage.
To better suit the characteristics of the Imola circuit, the team trimmed the beam wing element
Changes were made to the front suspension fairing in Miami, as the team looked to optimise the airflow's passage. It used flow-vis paint as a means to get visual confirmation that its changes had been effective.
A metal stay was also added to the rear portion of the floor, just ahead of the rear tyre, to help with any adverse flexion.
The long-term fix for McLaren's front brake disc fairing issues arrived at the Spanish Grand Prix as part of its first big update package of the season. The new variant utilised a much larger fairing and saw the pipework feeding the caliper revised, whilst the inlet was also altered to better facilitate the requirements of the new set-up.
The new package included a high downforce rear wing, seen here with the DRS open, which you'll note has a central and outboard metal snubbers to prevent the wing from returning too far when closed.
Changes were also made to the floor fences, sidepod profile and engine cover bodywork as the team looked to improve flow over the car.
A rearward action shot of the MCL36 showing off the high downforce rear wing, whilst changes were also made to the diffuser as part of the update package.
The front and rear wings were trimmed for Baku in order to reduce downforce and drag around the high-speed venue.
Another rear wing variant was introduced for the Canadian Grand Prix, seen here with flow-vis paint applied in order that the team can identify it was performing as anticipated.
The position of the floor stay was also altered as the team continued to search for improvements with the way in which the floor flexed.
A trimmed version of its rear wing featured at Silverstone, where you'll also note the blue paint was removed as the team continued to look for ways to reduce the car's weight.
A revised leading edge on the rear wing's endplate and the rear brake duct scoop was modified for the Austrian Grand Prix.
The biggest update package of McLaren's season to date came at the French Grand Prix, when the team switched sidepod concept for something more along the lines of what we'd seen from Red Bull.
The new package (lower image) featured a ramped style solution, which graduated down into the coke bottle region, rather than tapering inwards towards the engine cover.
The paint diet that the MCL36 had already been on was taken to another level with this update too, as paint wasn't applied wherever possible without entirely destroying the intent of the team's livery.
The new sidepod and engine cover bodywork also resulted in a much larger cooling gill panel being at the team's disposal.
The underfloor is a critical performance factor under the new regulations and it's clear that McLaren spent a great deal of its resources here trying to improve this area. You'll note the aforementioned edge wing design [2], with the flow diverting strikes towards the front of the assembly [3].
Meanwhile, McLaren, like others, opted for a stepped boat tail section [1], rather than a fully tapered one, in order to improve consistency across different rideheight profiles.
A close-up of the enlarged cooling gill panel favoured by McLaren as part of its update in France.
A close-up of the scrolled forward portion of the edge wing, of which the number of flow diverting strikes had been increased to five, whilst their contours were also more pronounced.
A new diffuser and rear wing design were unveiled in Belgium, albeit the latter of those wasn't raced.
A front view of the rear wing with the central section of the upper flap trimmed back.
As you'd expect, McLaren had a low downforce offering for Monza, seen here with flow-vis paint on the upper elements, beam wing and diffuser as the team sought visual confirmation they were all working as anticipated.
In order to balance the car front-to-rear, the front wing elements were also relaxed and trimmed to suit the rear wing in use.
McLaren continued to optimise its sidepod layout, with another update arriving at the Singapore Grand Prix that followed the Red Bull scheme once more. The fully open-top design used by Red Bull wasn't used but the new design certainly headed more in that direction.
Extra winglets were added into the stack on the rear brake duct for the Mexican Grand Prix, increasing local load.
Another angle showcasing the extra winglets mounted on the rear brake duct outlet.
To help with the temperature and altitude, McLaren added some more centreline cooling apertures to the spine of the engine cover.
