Vodafone McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes

[myurr]

You guys are only talking about visible developments. We have no idea what the non-visible developments are.

What is the point more revisions when you still cannot manage the tires properly? What is the point when you do not have a good baseline on tire performance. There is every possibility that getting the tire setup right is worth more than the average benefit of a successful car revision. Why not concentrate on tire setup then?

Brian

Because you can still improve the aerodynamics of the car, generate more downforce, improve drag, etc. The reality is that if you are rushing lots of small updates to the car then while you can make progress it is slower than working on one big update. If the press are right and there's a big update coming for Silverstone, then it's more likely that they're looking to take a big step forward with that update.

We've seen it before when a team has a good base solution, the updates seem to come less frequently but they have a bigger impact when they do land. A perfect example is McLaren in 2009 when they were throwing everything at the car to drag it up the field and were making good progress, only to slip back again when all the other teams brought their updates for the European races, before they clawed their way back again. If I remember correctly then that year they even had to take a breather from the race by race updates for a couple races in order to bring a bigger package to the car.

With the RRA efficient development is more important than ever.

[PlatinumZealot]

Apparently Lewis's car had a new rear axle. But yeah I've been very disappointed in McLaren update this season (and last year as well).

Wow! No wonder the McLarens are off pace. They are using an AXLE???

Anyway, Hamilton said his car was unchanged in Montreal. I think that pundits exaggerated the difference between the two cars, which was only a set-up difference. To mclaren it doesn't count as an upgrade, Just slightly different "fittings" on the cars, which I view it as too. Same as the gear ratio selection and differential locking settings. They can make a contrast between set-ups but variations to them aren't really counted as an upgrade to the car itself. Same for Monaco spec cars, I noticed Mclaren did not call the Monaco spec car an upgrade. It was just the car that you use in Monaco.

[DM0407]

You guys are only talking about visible developments. We have no idea what the non-visible developments are.

What is the point more revisions when you still cannot manage the tires properly? What is the point when you do not have a good baseline on tire performance. There is every possibility that getting the tire setup right is worth more than the average benefit of a successful car revision. Why not concentrate on tire setup then?

Brian

The problem is that they can't find the right setup AND don't improve the car.

Because it seems a waste to have all them aero guys, wind tunnels, composite departments and CFD guys doing nothing all day.

Thanks Pirelli!?

We are talking about the car that was the first to win two races, and the car that just won the previous week right?

Also, it was much easier to take a bad car in 2009 and find potential (either through copying or changing philosophy) than it is to take a car that was clearly superior to the rest at the beginning of the season, and make significant gains.. Most of the development put into exhausts by other teams was an attempt to copy what McLaren had from the start.

[Owen.C93]

Apparently Lewis's car had a new rear axle. But yeah I've been very disappointed in McLaren update this season (and last year as well).

Wow! No wonder the McLarens are off pace. They are using an AXLE???

Good point, I used google translate and that came up and I assumed that that meant driveshaft. But now I think about it it was probably some more revised suspension geometry. Lets see what Jenson thinks of this one tomorrow.

[f1rules]

seems they've run two different engine covers in fp's

[f1rules]

http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/gall ... un/007.jpg
http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/gall ... un/104.jpg

[FakeAlonso]

[McMrocks]

Do they run a DDRS or not? The endplate of the RW is very thick. But when i saw this:

i can't see any pipes. Also in other angels i can't see some.



Edit: I really hope that McLaren brings many big updates to Silverstone. If not i don't know how they want to win races.

[axle]

Apparently Lewis's car had a new rear axle. But yeah I've been very disappointed in McLaren update this season (and last year as well).

Wow! No wonder the McLarens are off pace. They are using an AXLE???

I refute these claims! I'm not being used, I'm a willing participant :p

[Owen.C93]

Do they run a DDRS or not? The endplate of the RW is very thick. But when i saw this:

[img]http://www.motorsportgp.pl/images/motor ... 33.jpg[img]

i can't see any pipes. Also in other angels i can't see some.



Edit: I really hope that McLaren brings many big updates to Silverstone. If not i don't know how they want to win races.

No they aren't.

[ell66]

Do they run a DDRS or not? The endplate of the RW is very thick. But when i saw this:

[img]http://www.motorsportgp.pl/images/motor ... 33.jpg[img]

i can't see any pipes. Also in other angels i can't see some.



Edit: I really hope that McLaren brings many big updates to Silverstone. If not i don't know how they want to win races.

No they aren't.

and how do you know this?

[myurr]

and how do you know this?

Look at the rear wing end plate. Right where the hole should be, alongside the upper flap, the McLaren wing has huge slits that would prevent a suitable hole from being created. They'd need to modify those slits and change the construction methodology of the rear wing before they could introduce the DDRS.

Frankly I think the DDRS is a bit of a distraction this year. The Mercedes isn't setting the world on fire, and the McLaren already seems to be pretty darn slippery in a straight line despite usually carrying a decent amount of downforce.

[McMrocks]

Sounds plausible. But why is the endplate so thick. To produce more drag?

[myurr]

Sounds plausible. But why is the endplate so thick. To produce more drag?

It's not that thick... Don't forget they no longer have the central column supporting load from the rear wing, it all has to go through the end plates. Plus they have to pass the hydraulic lines up that activate the DRS flap.

So I have no idea if they could be made thinner or not, nor why McLaren have designed them the way they have. But they definitely do not carry any DDRS ducting from the DRS activated flap. Perhaps they could do something within the actuator itself, but it doesn't look like it's big enough for anything fancy.

[myurr]

Interesting quote from Hamilton during an interview on Sky. He said that the car has good mid and high speed downforce but is lacking in low speed downforce. Is this purely due to the exhaust configuration, how all the elements work together to manage the airflow, or could there be some other reason? It certainly helps explain their traction issues and why they didn't go too well in Monaco. I presume it also helps explain their high speed stability and downforce whilst still keeping a fairly slippery car.