After you have performed well in Baku, in what proved to be a weekend is very positive, on the weekend of the Miami seemed to be a step back for McLaren, far away from the points and almost always in the bottom of the group. The characteristics of the u.s. track not has been useful to those of MCL60 updated, it still suffers from the high temperatures and certain types of curves, in particular when they can't turn with a level of downforce higher than that of rivals.
Despite the transition to the standards of design in ground effect for 2022, the MCL36 of last season, it was still plagued by the same unpredictability of driving in the center of the curve is already registered in 2021. Lando Norris has raised the same complaint in respect of the current MCL60, while team boss Andrea Stella explained that the car is weaker under conditions of low grip, and when the pilots did not use the accelerator and the brakes.
Over the past few appointments, to compensate for the shortcomings of the car generally, the team opted to shoot with wings full, even if it went to penalty in top speed. This trick has helped me on a path, such as ones of Melbourne and Baku, but not on other tracks, where they emerged the present limits of the car.
In an attempt to increase the aerodynamic load and achieve the targets missed for the winter break, the team of Woking started on an important path to development, which in Baku, azerbaijan became a reality with the arrival of a new fund, that brings interesting novelties in the lower part, the one hidden from the eyes of the public.
“The most visible part is the lower part of the fund. But in reality, in this generation of the car, a lot of what contributes to the performance is what you can't see, is underneath the car. This area is very different from the previous generation of the car in which the geometry was prescribed as a flat. Now there is no prescription”
“This is a real game of millimeters, with many, many iterations in many areas of the car or with the intervention of many people in the room aerodynamics. This is the main difference, a level smaller update, you can also change the concept of the beam wing. The reconfiguration of the beam wing is now divided, and is overall more efficient. We intend to continue to develop this area of the car for the rest of the season, and also with regard to the fund hope that we will have a couple of other developments, at least in the course of the season,” explained Andrea Stella.
On a track like Baku, full of long straights where it counts for very high-speed aerodynamic efficiency, this new package was worth around two-to three-tenths: “I can't say the numbers of the aerodynamic efficiency, but let's say that for this car, we were expecting something like two or three tenths of a second. This is what we expected. And I sincerely believe that is what happened.”
The new fund is an important evolution, has not changed radically in the car, so much so that, according to the Team Principal, some aspects have remained similar to the old specification. However, the goal was to improve the overall load is generated in each condition, the theme that the technical group is convinced that he is able to hit. To take a further step forward, there remains much work to be done, especially keeping in mind that the creation of a new fund, both in terms of design and physical realization, it generally requires from three weeks to a month of waiting.
“For this specific development, we have not necessarily changed the maps of aerodynamic. It is still relatively similar, but the load is greater, and is in all conditions. And also in this configuration is complete, if you compare, for example, with cars, more developed, such as Red Bull, you may notice some areas that still require a bit of work, for example some cars of tip not have this opening here [the opening in front of the rear tires], is an aspect on which we are working”.
“But it is not as easy as if the chiudessi and it worked, or if the chiudessi and there were many problems. And then you begin this process of correction of details here and there, and it may take three weeks to get a floor with this closure, which is more powerful but it is not obvious how to get it,” added the Star.
According to the Italian manager, a positive aspect of these new single-seater is the simplicity of finding the correlation between the data obtained in the wind tunnel and the race track than the previous generation of cars. An important element for teams such as McLaren, which rely on external structures, such as that of Cologne, to complete the simulations, with a process that requires more time and investment. Fortunately, the new wind tunnel in Woking is in the process of completion, with the calibration test, audible even from the office of the Star.
“I think that this generation of cars were better correlated, at least in the McLaren. Knowing that we have so many limitations with the wind tunnel, have the limitations of the winter with the previous generation of the car was very restrictive, not only for logistics".
"With these cars much happens on the bottom, where, in general, the correlation is better for any reason, while in the previous generation, there were many vortices that were flying in the air freely generated from the side, as by the bargeboard for example. In general, the front wings were even more complicated. This front wing is working as far away from earth, it is more simple”.
Thinking of the future, of course, the path of the updates will continue in the coming events with news that would change the shape of the bellies: “[updates] Will have an impact on the rest of the car, it is a work in progress. With regard to the shape of the car, I expect that it will evolve in a very evident way, the most obvious of [this update], he added,” the Team Principal.
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