Vodafone McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes

[Ferraripilot]

Both McLaren boys commenting on having "massive" understeer.

Due to a more effective back end from the new nose? Unbalancing their previous setups and requiring more front wing?

Due to the new nose being less efficient at proving front downforce than the old nose?

EDIT:

Button just came in after complaining about understeer. THey sent him right back out with more clicks on the front wing and he's immediately complaining about "Un-be-lievable understeer guys, unbelievable understeer.".

Adding more front wing made the understeer worse???

Perhaps they need to change the angle of attack of the front end in general ie, more rake. I bet the back end is indeed working better for them since they found more volume under the new nose.

[astracrazy]

could it be before they gained some downforce from the nose itself, but now its moved up this downforce is lost?

edit: love the pic of the slots on the sidepod they look like they have just been dumped on with a bit of double sided tape lol

[GrizzleBoy]

could it be before they gained some downforce from the nose itself, but now its moved up this downforce is lost?

edit: love the pic of the slots on the sidepod they look like they have just been dumped on with a bit of double sided tape lol

Possibly, simply because the old nose on its own provided a lot of angle of attack.

The new nose now has almost the same angle going over the top and bottom with more pressure underneath it, which is going to cause lift and probably contribute to the "unbelievable understeer" than Button is talking about.

If they don't sort it out, they might end up eating through their front tyres faster than they'd like.

Edit: Jenson put on soft tyres for the first time and goes fastest.

[munudeges]

Oh just wait until Ringo see's this new McLaren nose. He's been on about the low nose from day one.

I don't think it's a big deal. Why not switch to something that works better if the team determines it is in fact better. The low nose can't be attributed directly to any poor performances.

Oh contraire, it is a very big deal because it determines what you have to work with and what can be done with the rest of the car on back, and yes you can blame that on a decline in performances. They started off being the fastest team out there and now quite clearly aren't. That's just pure downforce.

So they switch to something which works better, which every other team has been doing since the season started and where McLaren can't go as far as other teams with nose height so they will always be compromised? Oh, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with the direction they went in from the start though! Sounds like a bit of a contradiction.

I think a few people saw this coming, as the inimitable Ringo did and the BBC and Autoport's Gary Anderson has been banging on about since he was at the actual launch of the car. Not sure about his prose and explanations sometimes, but to be fair to him he's called that exactly right.

[astracrazy]

this is why i don't understand
a) why this update wasn't introduced earlier in the test
b) why button and hamilton didn't take part in it

maybe this understeer issue would have been found then and fixed by now?

[ledzep4pm]

this is why i don't understand
a) why this update wasn't introduced earlier in the test
b) why button and hamilton didn't take part in it

maybe this understeer issue would have been found then and fixed by now?

Maybe the new nose was only shipped out very last minute due to new crash testing etc. ??

Also can't they run Turvey and Paffet at the young drivers test in Silverstone, surely running at least Turvey in both tests is advantageous.

[ell66]

Oh just wait until Ringo see's this new McLaren nose. He's been on about the low nose from day one.

I don't think it's a big deal. Why not switch to something that works better if the team determines it is in fact better. The low nose can't be attributed directly to any poor performances.

Oh contraire, it is a very big deal because it determines what you have to work with and what can be done with the rest of the car on back, and yes you can blame that on a decline in performances. They started off being the fastest team out there and now quite clearly aren't. That's just pure downforce.

So they switch to something which works better, which every other team has been doing since the season started and where McLaren can't go as far as other teams with nose height so they will always be compromised? Oh, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with the direction they went in from the start though! Sounds like a bit of a contradiction.

I think a few people saw this coming, as the inimitable Ringo did and the BBC and Autoport's Gary Anderson has been banging on about since he was at the actual launch of the car. Not sure about his prose and explanations sometimes, but to be fair to him he's called that exactly right.

Get real, you dont go from being the fastest car to being over a second off the pace in the race in bahrain due to downforce....tyres, tyres, tyres, do you not remember the mercedes example? and look at what happened when they got it right. Not hard to understand really, but if it fits your agenda right?
As for the nose, its a anatural progression, they've obviously been looking at it since pretty early on in the year and think by having a bit higher it'll help a bit, it really isnt a big deal.

[Owen.C93]

[350matt]

thats an interesting exhaust picture, looks like the tailpipe is in 3 pieces?

[PlatinumZealot]

reinforcement rings to mitigate cracking.

[hardingfv32]

reinforcement rings to mitigate cracking.

Cracking that has not been an issue before now? What has changed?

Brian

[thechainrule]

Are these strakes new for this weekend?

[Matt Somers]

Yes they are new

[Owen.C93]

thats an interesting exhaust picture, looks like the tailpipe is in 3 pieces?

Here's the final piece. You should be able to spot the brake caliber adjuster in that shot as well.



Jenson had a cracked exhaust in the last race didn't he?

[Nando]

Not sure if it´s been posted but i´m watching P1 right now so i thought i´d mention it.

Button stopped in the pits, changed nose then took off.
I managed to see some very interesting vents, much like the ones you see on the rear wing.



they were not on the wing they replaced and it´s not Hamilton´s car in a picture above or on the former page.