McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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mwillems
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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bananapeel23 wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2025 9:12 pm
Macklaren wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2025 4:55 pm
My memory of 2024 is very different -- for much of the season, we sat back and managed our pace at the start of every stint and unleashed devastating pace toward the end of the stint. Its not like our early pace advantage dropped off.

I think cold temps was the only clear weakness of the car in 2024
That did indeed happen, but not against Ferrari. That was only really the case against Red Bull, where it happened a bunch of times, most notably Imola.

The only instances where Ferrari really got comprehensively beaten on tyre deg were Imola and Baku stint, where Leclerc was pushing like an animal, and where Leclerc sat in Piastri’s dirty air with a huge pace advantage for like 30 laps before his deg finally kicked in, respectively,

Either way what I mean to say is that McLaren had good enough tyre wear. I don’t think improving deg needs to be a priority for the MCL39 unless they feel Ferrari or Red Bull will get closer in terms of raw pace.
I think they just need to target it in those conditions and configurations where it removes a lot of the cars competitiveness. In fact, this is what the team have in fact said they will be doing.
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MTudor
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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I can't wait to see what's so radical on the new car and then the goal post will move to the first test,the first FP''s,first quali,first race,then first 5 races,first updates,etc 😀😀😀

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mclaren111
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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MTudor wrote:
Tue Jan 14, 2025 4:37 pm
I can't wait to see what's so radical on the new car and then the goal post will move to the first test,the first FP''s,first quali,first race,then first 5 races,first updates,etc 😀😀😀

I don't think it will be radical in looks... Most probably under the skin as they say...

Seanspeed
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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bananapeel23 wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2025 3:54 pm
Seanspeed wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2025 1:24 am
I feel like you're proving my entire point. You're remembering the outliers in a small handful of races where Ferrari had fantastic race pace/tire wear, while ignoring that Mclaren had superior race pace/tire wear for like 80% of the season in comparison.
The point here is that when allowed to cruise at the ”natural” pace of the car (i.e. in the optimal temperature window), Ferrari was much kinder on their tyres than McLaren and could manage longer stints with respectable pace.
Again, that's just selective memory.

So when Ferrari were falling off in pace, it was because of 'natural pace' of the car, and not because the tires were falling off? The Ferrari could achieve very good tire preservation, but it could only be achieved if they did everything right, and in particular, really took it easy on the tires in the early stages of a stint. Basically, they had a high peak for tire life if everything went well, but in this era, that's clearly very hard to do consistently, and Ferrari definitely failed plenty.

While I'd say with Mclaren, there was a wider working window for them to keep their tires working well and in decent shape. It was a better overall situation in terms of tire usage, even if they, like everybody on the grid, didn't always get it right, either.

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bananapeel23
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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Seanspeed wrote:
Fri Jan 17, 2025 1:42 pm
bananapeel23 wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2025 3:54 pm
Seanspeed wrote:
Fri Jan 10, 2025 1:24 am
I feel like you're proving my entire point. You're remembering the outliers in a small handful of races where Ferrari had fantastic race pace/tire wear, while ignoring that Mclaren had superior race pace/tire wear for like 80% of the season in comparison.
The point here is that when allowed to cruise at the ”natural” pace of the car (i.e. in the optimal temperature window), Ferrari was much kinder on their tyres than McLaren and could manage longer stints with respectable pace.
Again, that's just selective memory.

So when Ferrari were falling off in pace, it was because of 'natural pace' of the car, and not because the tires were falling off? The Ferrari could achieve very good tire preservation, but it could only be achieved if they did everything right, and in particular, really took it easy on the tires in the early stages of a stint. Basically, they had a high peak for tire life if everything went well, but in this era, that's clearly very hard to do consistently, and Ferrari definitely failed plenty.

While I'd say with Mclaren, there was a wider working window for them to keep their tires working well and in decent shape. It was a better overall situation in terms of tire usage, even if they, like everybody on the grid, didn't always get it right, either.
Believe it or not, but your tires fall off faster when you're forced to go faster than the car can handle, otherwise you would see drivers doing only quali laps.

When you have someone faster breathing down your neck, you're forced to push or get overtaken. If you're fighting for track position, the choice is obvious.

Like there is very objective tyre wear data and you can dig it up if you'd like. That Ferrari was the best on their tyres on average isn't even up for debate, it's just a fact.

inzomnia365
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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I think people need to be a little cautious about improving cold temp performance. Struggling in colder temps is a sign that you are easier on the tires. You often see midfield teams jump out early in cold/wet conditions, and this is basically always because they heat up their tires quicker. Which is great in those situations, but means their tyre wear is generally higher in normal temperatures as well.

A good example of this is the Ferraris in Vegas. They were both quick, especially Leclerc was blindingly quick - but his tires fell off a cliff, and much faster than everyone else that were taking better care of their tires, and the pace advantage he had was effectively cancelled out.

Macklaren
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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https://x.com/McLarenF1/status/18900009 ... IOK7A&s=19

Hmmmm.....
Much sharper edges for the nose cone?
Last edited by Macklaren on Thu Feb 13, 2025 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

hchbs_1
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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Car looks like its got p shaped inlets on it compared to last year:
new roll hoop design more oval shaped,
larger red bull style floor edge
more centerline cooling vs mcl38
https://x.com/wearetherace/status/1890001612472742145
Last edited by hchbs_1 on Thu Feb 13, 2025 12:46 pm, edited 3 times in total.

hchbs_1
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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as well as a new nose and rear wing end plate

f1rules
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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Agree, judging by roll hoop this is the new car, more centerline cooling
hchbs_1 wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2025 12:42 pm
Car looks like its got p shaped inlets on it compared to last year:
new roll hoop design more oval shaped,
larger red bull style floor edge
more centerline cooling vs mcl38

MV8
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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hchbs_1 wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2025 12:44 pm
as well as a new nose and rear wing end plate
I don't see that rear wing really modified tbh.
Just posting

SilverToM
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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organic
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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The front wing is 2024 spec. Hiding a little bit I guess

The rear wing is also 2024 spec

But it's the mcl39 alright. New airbox and nose are the dead giveaways
Last edited by organic on Thu Feb 13, 2025 12:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

f1rules
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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organic
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Re: McLaren MCL39 Speculation Thread

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As PG points out, the anti-dive has become far more aggressive