2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[billamend]

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/2022/pre ... est-day-1/

After two years in the design process, it’s great to finally see the MCL36 on track, alongside all of the other new cars. It’s remarkable how many laps have been completed by teams today, considering how new these cars are, and how much there is to learn. It’s good to see F1 getting winter testing off to such a positive start.

This has been a productive first day for us. We’re not taking any notice of lap times at the moment, it’s all about learning and following our own directions and priorities. We gathered some important data points during this first day of testing and learned a great deal, both to carry forward for the rest of this test and also to use as we develop the car further.

Like many teams, we undertook initial runs with aero rakes on the car this morning which provided some useful initial correlation data. Aerodynamics is the biggest change with the ’22 cars so it is important to take some basic initial measurements at an early stage. Through the rest of the day, we did a fair amount of set-up and exploratory work, beginning to understand the car and the tyres a step at a time. I think we can be pleased with the number of laps we’ve covered with Lando today and look forward to going again with Daniel tomorrow.

[McL-H]

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/2022/pre ... est-day-1/

After two years in the design process, it’s great to finally see the MCL36 on track, alongside all of the other new cars. It’s remarkable how many laps have been completed by teams today, considering how new these cars are, and how much there is to learn. It’s good to see F1 getting winter testing off to such a positive start.

This has been a productive first day for us. We’re not taking any notice of lap times at the moment, it’s all about learning and following our own directions and priorities. We gathered some important data points during this first day of testing and learned a great deal, both to carry forward for the rest of this test and also to use as we develop the car further.

Like many teams, we undertook initial runs with aero rakes on the car this morning which provided some useful initial correlation data. Aerodynamics is the biggest change with the ’22 cars so it is important to take some basic initial measurements at an early stage. Through the rest of the day, we did a fair amount of set-up and exploratory work, beginning to understand the car and the tyres a step at a time. I think we can be pleased with the number of laps we’ve covered with Lando today and look forward to going again with Daniel tomorrow.

Sounds good. Is it possible they are running a very basic car now, just for the base correlation, check if all is in order and bring parts from there on? Compared to the competition at this stage, the car seems to be very basic to me. Or are looks deceiving on this?

I guess it makes sense to start with a solid base at testing and add more advanced parts after to minimise the variables in case correlation is off. Or is this never how teams approach this?

[Emag]

I wouldn't say it's basic. The concept is clean and well refined in my opinion. It's just missing little details, but so do a lot of other cars out there.

Anyway, I would expect most teams have brought a "testing" spec here just for correlation purposes. A more developed car will probably arrive in the Bahrain test, or on the race weekend itself.

[Marc.W]

I wouldn't say it's basic. The concept is clean and well refinement in my opinion. It's just missing little details, but so do a lot of other cars out there.

Anyway, I would expect most teams have brought a "testing" spec here just for correlation purposes. A more developed car will probably arrive in the Bahrain test, or on the race weekend itself.

I agree, if they're reaching their target downforce levels with this "basic" car, then that's very good!

[shinekraj]

I think they were more worried on the front suspension and the feel it could give to the drivers. The way the car behaved today is a testament that they choose the right development path. Look at the videos from f1 official YouTube channel. The way it takes the left hander after turn 2 tells the story. Of all the cars McLaren was way more agile in turning away from the apex. The car has a terrific front end for sure.

[djos]

Quite a few F1 journos have commented that the Mclaren turn in is super sharp compared to the other cars. Seems like Danny Ric was able to really influence the qualities of the cars suspension design and it looks like Lando is benefiting too (which is great for the whole team).

[Emag]

Quite a few F1 journos have commented that the Mclaren turn in is super sharp compared to the other cars. Seems like Danny Ric was able to really influence the qualities of the cars suspension design and it looks like Lando is benefiting too (which is great for the whole team).

Lawrence Barretto said that words in the padock hints towards Ferrari and Mercedes looking very good on track, with no mention of McLaren.

I don't know who to listen to, because I am not sure which journalists are the least biased.

[djos]

Joylon Palmer was one of those rating the Mclaren was the sharpest in turn in. As an ex-F1 driver I’d rate his commentary above many of the other journos with no racing experience.

[SmallSoldier]

Quite a few F1 journos have commented that the Mclaren turn in is super sharp compared to the other cars. Seems like Danny Ric was able to really influence the qualities of the cars suspension design and it looks like Lando is benefiting too (which is great for the whole team).

I understand that you are Daniel’s fan, but he has nothing to do with the new suspension layout, it has been worked on since 2020.

[SmallSoldier]

Quite a few F1 journos have commented that the Mclaren turn in is super sharp compared to the other cars. Seems like Danny Ric was able to really influence the qualities of the cars suspension design and it looks like Lando is benefiting too (which is great for the whole team).

Lawrence Barretto said that words in the padock hints towards Ferrari and Mercedes looking very good on track, with no mention of McLaren.

I don't know who to listen to, because I am not sure which journalists are the least biased.

I wouldn’t take much at this stage from any of them… A lot of comments (positive and negative) are to fill time and generate clicks until Bahrain… Reading too much into it is silly.

[djos]

Quite a few F1 journos have commented that the Mclaren turn in is super sharp compared to the other cars. Seems like Danny Ric was able to really influence the qualities of the cars suspension design and it looks like Lando is benefiting too (which is great for the whole team).

I understand that you are Daniel’s fan, but he has nothing to do with the new suspension layout, it has been worked on since 2020.

Yes I am a DR fan, however, I was pretty precise with my wording, I said he influenced the “qualities”, meaning how the car drives. This isn’t speculation, he and the team have confirmed this.

The 32-year-old had little input on McLaren’s 2021 challenger having just switched from Renault at the end of 2020, while the team’s in-season attention swiftly turned to this year’s car due to the sweeping regulation changes.

But Ricciardo revealed he had significant input in the development of this year’s car — and had little push back from Norris, suggesting he will be far more comfortable in the cockpit.

https://apple.news/Ag8Q0F3qUTwSc4g-98xtzrQ

[SmallSoldier]

Quite a few F1 journos have commented that the Mclaren turn in is super sharp compared to the other cars. Seems like Danny Ric was able to really influence the qualities of the cars suspension design and it looks like Lando is benefiting too (which is great for the whole team).

I understand that you are Daniel’s fan, but he has nothing to do with the new suspension layout, it has been worked on since 2020.

Yes I am a DR fan, however, I was pretty precise with my wording, I said he influenced the “qualities”, meaning how the car drives. This isn’t speculation, he and the team have confirmed this.

The 32-year-old had little input on McLaren’s 2021 challenger having just switched from Renault at the end of 2020, while the team’s in-season attention swiftly turned to this year’s car due to the sweeping regulation changes.

But Ricciardo revealed he had significant input in the development of this year’s car — and had little push back from Norris, suggesting he will be far more comfortable in the cockpit.

https://apple.news/Ag8Q0F3qUTwSc4g-98xtzrQ

I’ve read every interview, he did provide feedback (as expected) and what he would like to get from the car is something that Lando isn’t against… But the problem isn’t related to a “sharp” front end, it was more weight transfer while cornering that made him understeer mid corner and that wasn’t really suspension related, but more aero related to the car itself and the philosophy it had… They haven’t driven the cars in anger yet to understand if that characteristic is still in the car or not.

I do believe that trying to match the suspension design to the drivers is simply wrong and a disservice to the engineers and the team… The suspension design in the MCL36 isn’t driven by the drivers, it’s driven by the requirements of the new regulations and to create the fastest car they can, regardless of who drives it.

[djos]

You aren’t wrong, however when you know what helps a driver go faster (and both drivers have said they like similar qualities), you can engineer those qualities into the car. It’s not just aero, it’s a combination of the aero and suspension and how they work together.

Mclaren have been very open about their 21 car having deficiencies in certain areas that lead to it being great at some tracks and terrible at others.

To improve the car, you need to take on feedback from experienced drives like Daniel to produce a more well rounded car that is fast across a wider range of track types.

Engineers don’t drive the cars, drivers do. You can design and build the most advanced car on the planet, but if the car doesn’t inspire confidence in the drivers, then it’s not going to win a championship.

[SmallSoldier]

You aren’t wrong, however when you know what helps a driver go faster (and both drivers have said they like similar qualities), you can engineer those qualities into the car. It’s not just aero, it’s a combination of the aero and suspension and how they work together.

Mclaren have been very open about their 21 car having deficiencies in certain areas that lead to it being great at some tracks and terrible at others.

To improve the car, you need to take on feedback from experienced drives like Daniel to produce a more well rounded car that is fast across a wider range of track types.

Engineers don’t drive the cars, drivers do. You can design and build the most advanced car on the planet, but if the car doesn’t inspire confidence in the drivers, then it’s not going to win a championship.

Of course drivers will provide feedback, it is expected of them and it helps the engineers understand where the weaknesses or deficiencies may be, but ultimately the engineers will produce the fastest car they can with the compromises inherited to it… The MCL34 and MCL35 has similar characteristics and that’s because it was the best car the team could produce at that time, the MCL35M maintained those… I’m hoping that the MCL36 will be a car that suits Daniel a bit more, but it isn’t a car designed for or by Daniel, it is the fastest car the team has envisioned based on the current regulations and will have it’s own driving characteristics, regardless of what the drivers may like.

Regarding the suspension, what I’m trying to say is that the new suspension design has been in the works since 2020, before Daniel joined the team, so trying to say now that he influenced the design is simply wrong.

[djos]

I’m not saying he influenced the suspension, I’m saying he influenced the car, and The team have confirmed his feedback was used to develop the 22 cars qualities, with Lando largely in agreement.

Btw, the teams were not allowed to work on the 22 car until 21. So it hasn’t been 2 years in the making.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-te ... 83363/amp/