Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24

[Scotracer]

Bargeboards different from Melbourne? And the rest of the sidepods?

[PNSD]

certainly looks different at the back also... Looks alot tighter than before.

Then again, ive never really properly looked at this car so not too sure if its new or not!

[Scotracer]

Only pic from the race I could find...

It looks different.

[zgred]

They still didn't choose colour of the diffuser :]

[timbo]

Interesting that starter hole is to the side.

[zgred]

Interesting that starter hole is to the side.

Could it be because of KERS electric motor mounted centrally and connected to differential?

[timbo]

Interesting that starter hole is to the side.

Could it be because of KERS electric motor mounted centrally and connected to differential?

Yes, I thought about it too, however I was told that KERS engine is mounted ahead of engine... Well, maybe scarbs will comment on this.

[Shaddock]

They still didn't choose colour of the diffuser :]

It's not very circular for a starter hole.

This isn't a bit where the paint missed?

[kilcoo316]

Interesting that starter hole is to the side.

Bit weird.


No doubt to do with how they hook into the gearbox.

[myurr]

Okay I'm back - was going to walk away from F1 in disgust at the FIA, but it would appear that I was far too quick to jump to the conclusion that they were up to their usual tricks. So apologies to the FIA on this occasion.

Back on to topic, it is the starter hole, it is round, but the paint can't flow directly over it leaving the teardrop shape you can see. Because it's a bit dark, the carbon fiber to the rear of the hole appears as black as the hole itself making it a little confusing.

[Scotracer]

They still didn't choose colour of the diffuser :]

It's not very circular for a starter hole.

This isn't a bit where the paint missed?

Meh that hole is just the hole in the diffuser (which is just carbon fibre) and then go to the back of the gearbox.

[zgred]

The hole

[Callum]

In Mark Hughes' autosport columb he says a rival engineer says this about the McLaren..

"There are a couple of cars, and mclaren is one of them, that in their treatment of one fundimental part if the airflow regime show that their aerodynamisits have come to the fore during the era thats just finished, where gains were made in incrimental changes. If they had experiance of the previous generation of cars they would have known immediately how to treat treat one particular area that is probably even more important than the diffuser under these regs"

What could this area be?? the first thing i thought of was nose/front wing...but Mclaren and Brawn have quite a sumilar nose design.

[DaveKillens]

Interesting that starter hole is to the side.

Could it be because of KERS electric motor mounted centrally and connected to differential?

Yes, I thought about it too, however I was told that KERS engine is mounted ahead of engine... Well, maybe scarbs will comment on this.

The KERS electric motor\generator is mounted between the driver and engine, and has nothing to do with the hole in the diffuser. But who's to say that the position to mount the hole for the starter has to be on the centerline? If the starter engages a dog mounted to the side of a transmission shaft, then this photo makes sense.

[kilcoo316]

In Mark Hughes' autosport columb he says a rival engineer says this about the McLaren..

"There are a couple of cars, and mclaren is one of them, that in their treatment of one fundimental part if the airflow regime show that their aerodynamisits have come to the fore during the era thats just finished, where gains were made in incrimental changes. If they had experiance of the previous generation of cars they would have known immediately how to treat treat one particular area that is probably even more important than the diffuser under these regs"

What could this area be?? the first thing i thought of was nose/front wing...but Mclaren and Brawn have quite a sumilar nose design.

I would imagine its the front of the floor or front wing endplates - possibly also in sealing the floor along the two sides of the sidepods to improve efficiency.

IMO its all about the floor and how much you can get out of it. I think that is always the area that makes or breaks an F1 car. Its free downforce (by free I mean relatively drag free). So the front wing endplates, bargeboards, splitter... all that - crucial to using the floor right.


But then - its not as if I've worked on the previous generation so I really cannot say definitively whether that is the case or not.