Note: Negative toe might still work in the qualifying environment. But all my setups will for now utilize positive or only slightly negative toe as I expect it to be the more sustainable solution.

The new McLaren is fast and isnt. In Qualifying it seems to lack traction, only once the fuel is in, it will be noticably better to drive. The rear end is still chronically overwhelmed. You need to prevent the rear from moving and have to make the front less responsive in order to not lose the rear, especially during direction changes and especially in low speed corners. This requires both setup changes and a careful steering input. The minimum rear ride height will in most cases be the best. I doubt we'll see much more except for tracks completely without slow corners. The TC seems a bit meh right now, but TC1/TC2 on 3/5 seemed to somehow make for a good compromise. You can absolutely throw it into any faster corner, it has more downforce than you will need and it does stay very stable under braking, even into suzuka T1. You will often find yourself with too cold front tires, hence going low on the brake ducts might be needed, else the tire cools out even in 23C and you will not have front end grip 2 laps into your Q run. You can really crank the wheel to keep temperature in the tires.

Suzuka
Braking in Q is trickier than in race trim, due to the missing weight on the front. You might actually experience shorter braking distances in race trim. The setup does not change much from Q to R, just that it becomes better to drive.
Especially in the race it feels very balanced and despite the wear difference, it remained stable as far as I got into the stint. The race set definitely starts neutral, I'm actually not sure which direction it will take over the race distance, you might have some influence here as a driver.
Suzuka is special with its many direction changes that require a planted rear and patient driver. Just let it roll a while and only make tiny speed andjustments in the esses. Despite the tricky surface of suzuka you won't get away with a completely soft setup here, so I went as hard as the car needs to be, but as soft as it can be.

Driving

• Aim for late apexes and dont shy away from a short shift or staying in the higher gear option in the first place
• your brake is more than a means of deceleration, it also controls pitch and especially in Q this will be key to managing rotation on corner entry - most pronounced in T1,  but you can really go for it.
• on throttle the car will keep rotating, dont just floor it as that might trigger the TC way too much - take a close look at my throttle traces, especially at the exit of the esses. Position is key here.
• dont steer too much, progress into it, be ready to steer neutral on exits, but also to go neutral shortly after the initial turn in, as the rear needs more time to grip up.

Adjustments

• If too oversteery: Stiffer front spring, stiffer front roll bar, less rake. One click at a time.
• The brake bias is tricky. If it's too far forward the front will suddenly regain grip and the rear snaps. If too far back the rears might lock. Higher ABS here if you cannot handle it, but likely at a time loss. Clean trailing will pay off.
• higher preload can give more turn in stability, but will come with more nervous exits
• lowering front and adding rear camber might further stabilize the car (in race)
• lowering the caster also gives more predictability
• Some drivers might like a car with less rake for better drivability. The only option here though is to raise the front.

Tire pressures
Aim for 26.4 or more. Lower pressures might feel better in a slow corner, but its harder to hit the right slip. Go for 26.7-26.9 for solid support from the tire without surprises. Here its aimed to have the fronts at lower pressures than the rear - so they develop some temperature.

Lap times
Q fuel: 16L
R: 103L

For LFM just take out fuel, the balance is not affected!