Mclaren MP4-30 Honda

[godlameroso]

The way engine development works, I don't see them doing much to improve engine power until the last 1/3rd of the season. McLaren themselves said that the next engine upgrade will come during Silverstone, but McLaren doesn't make their developmental milestone until they reach Singapore/Japan. Which is usually when teams introduce the final evolution of their cars for the season.

[Mesteño]

Right now, even if all the other cars crashed in an accident it would be 50/50 if the would finish the race.

Ok, that was funny I must admit.

[taperoo2k]

Could we stop the sensationalist Headlines please? So many People get tricked by them and after Austria we will have 10 Pages of whining and ranting about how McLaren lied......

Slow but steady progress seems to be how McLaren are progressing this season. I expect they've been holding off on aero upgrades while waiting for Honda to sort out the Power Unit problems. No point unleashing aero designs if you can't fully exploit them due to a power unit that's not as yet working fully, as you just waste money and ultimately give the other teams ideas. I expect we'll see more sensationalist headlines about McLaren Honda as the season progresses.

If McLaren Honda were to win this season, I expect it'll be down to wet weather and a lot of luck. If it were to be a win based on aero and power unit performance then I expect the entire F1 media circus would go into meltdown.

So far the MP4-30 is a steady as she goes kind of car and tbh I'm surprised McLaren Honda have managed to progress as quickly as they have done (thought it would take a bit longer), but they still have a mountain to climb. I look forward to seeing the upgrades they'll be bringing for Canada/Austria. Dunno seems they've been refining the basic concept behind the MP4-30 but not done anything radical to it yet.

[Jackles-UK]

When it comes to the upgrade of the PU dont forget to bare in mind that it is possible that Merc, Ferrari and Renault all had the same 'phasing in' scheme as Honda have had. The benefit of course is that they were all in the same boat running at 75% etc of their peak power at the same time while building up to the full potential over the course of the season in unison; that way one manufacturer didn't look like they had totally dropped the ball (like many say Honda have this year) up against another.

Put it this way; Melbourne 2014 the fastest racing lap (quali was wet so a bad comparison) was Rosberg way out in front and totally untroubled with a 1.32.4, Melbourne 2015 was similarly a way out in front and relatively untroubled Hamiliton with a 1.30.9. Obviously the cars are not identical but as far as I recall the tweaks to the regulations for 2015 actually hinder the aero of the cars not benefit then so unless Merc have found nearly 2 secs per lap just on set-up and evolutionary upgrades I reckon even they were having to run at limited/capped power of some sort.

Personally I think Honda should be proud of where they are. To say that this is where they wanted to be is of course untrue but after only a handful of races to be fighting among teams with well over a year of settled PU suppliers (Lotus the possible exception and, let's be fair, they aren't exactly streaming ahead of McLaren right now!) and chassis homologation is a far better achievement than many have given them credit for. I think realistically the goal should be regular Q3 appearances and consistent points finishes maybe with the goal of sneaking a podium later in the year at the likes of Singapore or something but they have always been open in saying that this is a multi year project and that they aren't expecting miracles until at least the 2016 season.

[aterren]

calculate the static pressure against the radiator at speed.. then calculate the pressure drop accross the fan and you find the fan does not add much - do the same for the air velocity too. . The entire underside of the side pod is at pressure when the car is at speed.. you pretty much can bleed it off to anywhere you want without a fan. I get you.. but even street cars don't need the fan at speed, the air speed is plenty fast enough than the fan anyway. Renenber f1 radiators are huuge and you even cooling too.

I could try to shake off the rust and do the math but it isn't like you can look up a fan curve for this application. I also don't know the mass flow rate needs or the pressure drop across the radiators and so on. I concede bolting a radiator onto an existing car would have no benefit. Bleeding air off has a drag cost. You may very well be right but I'm not quite persuaded that this extra latitude wouldn't create opportunities. In any case it is well off topic.

[frosty125]

Considering McLaren didn't run a monkey seat at Monaco is it safe to assume just like the blockers monkey seats will not be used for this aero concept?

[turbof1]

Considering McLaren didn't run a monkey seat at Monaco is it safe to assume just like the blockers monkey seats will not be used for this aero concept?

I think they refrain from running a monkey seat because they lack engine power. Red Bull also cut downforce last year.

[diffuser]

Considering McLaren didn't run a monkey seat at Monaco is it safe to assume just like the blockers monkey seats will not be used for this aero concept?

I think they refrain from running a monkey seat because they lack engine power. Red Bull also cut downforce last year.

On most tracks , the fastest way around them is with MORE downforce, regardless of the PU power output. You're on the accelerator sooner, on the brakes later and are able to maintain higher average speed in corners. So while I see your reasoning, not sure that would be the reason why they wouldn't run one in Monaco where they had Ample power.

1 reason might be that they can't make use of any more rear downforce. The car needs to be balance. If they are not running as much rear wing as they can, cause they tend to under-steer (or something like that), then adding a monkey seat wouldn't give them anything.

Another reason might be the way the cooling of the power unit works, the PU cover tends to be high in the area where you would put a monkey seat. I'm not sure what the airflow would be like there. Normally you think that air still has good speed and it's energised by the heat of the PU....but who knows.

[turbof1]

On most tracks , the fastest way around them is with MORE downforce, regardless of the PU power output. You're on the accelerator sooner, on the brakes later and are able to maintain higher average speed in corners. So while I see your reasoning, not sure that would be the reason why they wouldn't run one in Monaco where they had Ample power.

Power output has influence on the downforce you want to run. Don't forget: you need to count in straight line travel speed too.

I agree with you that it's somewhat strange not to use a monkey seat in Monaco though.

[Massimorae]

Considering McLaren didn't run a monkey seat at Monaco is it safe to assume just like the blockers monkey seats will not be used for this aero concept?

I think they refrain from running a monkey seat because they lack engine power. Red Bull also cut downforce last year.

What is the main purpose of a monkey seat actually?
I always assumed it tries to connect the fast air from the exhaust to the underside of the rear wing.
If this is true I would say McLaren did a nice job on that without using a monkey seat.

[Jef Patat]

Oh boy, here comes the IR reflection lessons again. Try looking it up in this thread, I have posted images and explanations about it before.

[diffuser]

Oh boy, here comes the IR reflection lessons again. Try looking it up in this thread, I have posted images and explanations about it before.

yeah, I remember. I still have the scars.

[mclaren111]

EB interview - FOM - April:

Q: Can you draw a picture of the 2015 season? When will you progress out of Q1 for example?

EB: There will be a strong development push until the summer shut down. This development push will be the base for next year's package. I think we will surprise some people by the end of the season - probably not winning races but raising the bar of our competitiveness.

With focus on 2015 & 2016 it is understandable why progress seems slow at times. Lets hope it works as soon as next year [-o< [-o<

[proteus]

The reason why the new components dont deliver the results right away is the fact, that the first race they use it on is like testing session (since there is no more testing, like it was 10 years ago), so they are learning about the pros and cons. Spain was a clear indication of the process of this, and next race which was Monaco delivered the result (new rear end definetly helped to get the result, due to the characteristics of Monaco). Canada will be bad, Austria could be next step up the ladder, and due to Canada "testing session", Monza could be good. All the software in the world cant give u the feedback, which u get from the miles on the tarmac.

[SiLo]

The reason why the new components dont deliver the results right away is the fact, that the first race they use it on is like testing session (since there is no more testing, like it was 10 years ago), so they are learning about the pros and cons. Spain was a clear indication of the process of this, and next race which was Monaco delivered the result (new rear end definetly helped to get the result, due to the characteristics of Monaco). Canada will be bad, Austria could be next step up the ladder, and due to Canada "testing session", Monza could be good. All the software in the world cant give u the feedback, which u get from the miles on the tarmac.

Or Monza could be very painful.