2024 Mclaren Formula 1 Team

[Mansell89]

Team are testing the 22 car at Imola today.

I know that’s a lot different to the new car but have they chose Imola to get some sort of baseline data ahead of the first big in season developments there in a few weeks?

[bauc]

Team are testing the 22 car at Imola today.

I know that’s a lot different to the new car but have they chose Imola to get some sort of baseline data ahead of the first big in season developments there in a few weeks?

In season testing is forbidden, this has to be a young driver developing program that they are running at Imola.

[M840TR]

Team are testing the 22 car at Imola today.

I know that’s a lot different to the new car but have they chose Imola to get some sort of baseline data ahead of the first big in season developments there in a few weeks?

In season testing is forbidden, this has to be a young driver developing program that they are running at Imola.

I assume he's referring to wind tunnel calibration tests

[LionsHeart]

Team are testing the 22 car at Imola today.

I know that’s a lot different to the new car but have they chose Imola to get some sort of baseline data ahead of the first big in season developments there in a few weeks?

In season testing is forbidden, this has to be a young driver developing program that they are running at Imola.

I assume he's referring to wind tunnel calibration tests

Very likely. This explains a lot.

[FittingMechanics]

I think Leclerc was not pulling ahead too much until Piastri got stuck behind Hamilton. At least that is my recollection. I don't have time to check the replay.

With a deficit in top speed - overtaking is always difficult. We all remember Spa when the car pace wasn't that bad but the top speed was notoriously low so Lando could not overtake in the corners but he would get overtaken on each straight.

Also quite good to see the team being slightly more aggressive with strategy. That is what I was calling for in the last years - being happy to get P4 or P5 is not what this team should be about. Taking more risk in order to get a bigger reward is more important.

[mwillems]

https://racer.com/2024/03/12/hamilton-f ... s-piastri/

Oscar suggests finishing 4th in Australia is about the best Mclaren can do.

"Hopefully we can have a good race. If there’s one race of the year you can pick to have a good one it’s your home race. So we’ll try our best. But yeah, I think if we can finish around where we did (in Jeddah), that would be the most we can do.”

[LionsHeart]

https://racer.com/2024/03/12/hamilton-f ... s-piastri/

Oscar suggests finishing 4th in Australia is about the best Mclaren can do.

"Hopefully we can have a good race. If there’s one race of the year you can pick to have a good one it’s your home race. So we’ll try our best. But yeah, I think if we can finish around where we did (in Jeddah), that would be the most we can do.”

If the race goes as normal, I hope for 5th and 6th place. So far this is a completely calm forecast. I'm looking forward to more in Suzuka. That's where McLaren will fight with Ferrari.

[mwillems]

https://racer.com/2024/03/12/hamilton-f ... s-piastri/

Oscar suggests finishing 4th in Australia is about the best Mclaren can do.

"Hopefully we can have a good race. If there’s one race of the year you can pick to have a good one it’s your home race. So we’ll try our best. But yeah, I think if we can finish around where we did (in Jeddah), that would be the most we can do.”

If the race goes as normal, I hope for 5th and 6th place. So far this is a completely calm forecast. I'm looking forward to more in Suzuka. That's where McLaren will fight with Ferrari.

Time will tell where we finish, I hope you are wrong!

[LionsHeart]

https://racer.com/2024/03/12/hamilton-f ... s-piastri/

Oscar suggests finishing 4th in Australia is about the best Mclaren can do.

"Hopefully we can have a good race. If there’s one race of the year you can pick to have a good one it’s your home race. So we’ll try our best. But yeah, I think if we can finish around where we did (in Jeddah), that would be the most we can do.”

If the race goes as normal, I hope for 5th and 6th place. So far this is a completely calm forecast. I'm looking forward to more in Suzuka. That's where McLaren will fight with Ferrari.

Time will tell where we finish, I hope you are wrong!

But why? Let's say Lando arrives fifth, Oscar sixth. Or vice versa. Rearranging the terms does not change the sum. I'm just not sure whether Carlos will perform in Australia or not.

Ferrari has no obvious weaknesses yet. Therefore, for now they remain stably the second force. But I hope this will change soon.

[mwillems]

If the race goes as normal, I hope for 5th and 6th place. So far this is a completely calm forecast. I'm looking forward to more in Suzuka. That's where McLaren will fight with Ferrari.

Time will tell where we finish, I hope you are wrong!

But why? Let's say Lando arrives fifth, Oscar sixth. Or vice versa. Rearranging the terms does not change the sum. I'm just not sure whether Carlos will perform in Australia or not.

Ferrari has no obvious weaknesses yet. Therefore, for now they remain stably the second force. But I hope this will change soon.

Why would I hope we do better? Because I'd love for us to get a podium here. That does not mean it is a disaster if we don't.
Your forecast is quite calm, but I think the idea of having a fight with Ferrari isn't out of the question, I think we will be closer here than at Bahrain or Jeddah. Ferrari look well balanced, whereas we look to have clear weaknesses, I think those weaknesses we be less prevalent here, but still visible.

[mwillems]

Moving back to a previous conversation talking about Mclarens high speed abilities, and how this compares to other cars

https://formu1a.uno/en/mclaren-f1-estab ... ll-arrive/

Entering the first weekend of the season, Andrea Stella said the Bahrain track was not very suited to the characteristics of the MCL38. He underlined that Jeddah could be more favourable.
However, Lando Norris managed expectations by explaining that the papaya car still suffered from a limited front end. [Indeed, this is why I lean towards that a bigger rear wing was balancing the need for more wing at the front]

After the race, the Team Principal of the Woking team went into more detail.

"Our strengths and weaknesses were shown very well on this circuit. Starting from the strengths, you will have seen that in the first sector everyone was losing ground to us.
This is because, in fast corners – where you just need to give a single steering wheel input – our car responds very well.,” said the Italian engineer

The GPS data confirms this, given that in the snake from turn 4 to turn 10, the MCL38s did not even lose ground with Max Verstappen’s RB20, with Lando Norris showing more speed than the 3-time Champion.

[When I read this it immediately made me think of a previous conversation several pages ago, comparing Ferrari and Mclaren in the high speeds.]

However, when the corners are longer, like the 13th or the last corner in Jeddah, that’s where the MCL38 loses a lot of time.

“In the corners where you need to spend a lot of time on the steering, we are not yet as competitive as we would like,” Stella admitted. [I think it was emag saying this, and also the angle of the corners]

“And that’s where cars like the Ferrari are very strong. It is no coincidence that Leclerc was so competitive in the last sector.” Aston Martin shares this problem with their AMR24 machine.

[f1isgood]

Is there some analysis that shows how much drag reduction has been achieved since Austria last year? Compared to both Ferrari/Red Bull, it looks like drag is still higher from the telemetry at Jeddah.

[LionsHeart]

Time will tell where we finish, I hope you are wrong!

But why? Let's say Lando arrives fifth, Oscar sixth. Or vice versa. Rearranging the terms does not change the sum. I'm just not sure whether Carlos will perform in Australia or not.

Ferrari has no obvious weaknesses yet. Therefore, for now they remain stably the second force. But I hope this will change soon.

Why would I hope we do better? Because I'd love for us to get a podium here. That does not mean it is a disaster if we don't.
Your forecast is quite calm, but I think the idea of having a fight with Ferrari isn't out of the question, I think we will be closer here than at Bahrain or Jeddah. Ferrari look well balanced, whereas we look to have clear weaknesses, I think those weaknesses we be less prevalent here, but still visible.

I completely agree with this assessment.

[LionsHeart]

Moving back to a previous conversation talking about Mclarens high speed abilities, and how this compares to other cars

https://formu1a.uno/en/mclaren-f1-estab ... ll-arrive/

Entering the first weekend of the season, Andrea Stella said the Bahrain track was not very suited to the characteristics of the MCL38. He underlined that Jeddah could be more favourable.
However, Lando Norris managed expectations by explaining that the papaya car still suffered from a limited front end. [Indeed, this is why I lean towards that a bigger rear wing was balancing the need for more wing at the front]

After the race, the Team Principal of the Woking team went into more detail.

"Our strengths and weaknesses were shown very well on this circuit. Starting from the strengths, you will have seen that in the first sector everyone was losing ground to us.
This is because, in fast corners – where you just need to give a single steering wheel input – our car responds very well.,” said the Italian engineer

The GPS data confirms this, given that in the snake from turn 4 to turn 10, the MCL38s did not even lose ground with Max Verstappen’s RB20, with Lando Norris showing more speed than the 3-time Champion.

[When I read this it immediately made me think of a previous conversation several pages ago, comparing Ferrari and Mclaren in the high speeds.]

However, when the corners are longer, like the 13th or the last corner in Jeddah, that’s where the MCL38 loses a lot of time.

“In the corners where you need to spend a lot of time on the steering, we are not yet as competitive as we would like,” Stella admitted. [I think it was emag saying this, and also the angle of the corners]

“And that’s where cars like the Ferrari are very strong. It is no coincidence that Leclerc was so competitive in the last sector.” Aston Martin shares this problem with their AMR24 machine.

Here you go. When the main problems with handling and balance at the race distance are solved, everything will become much easier.

The team worked purposefully on flowvis tests at 100 km/h. We are waiting for updates that will help in long, slow turns, where the steering wheel is turned to the side for a long time.

If the team brings an updated front wing to Imola, perhaps then we will see the first glimpses of true pace. And then your assumptions about the front wing may turn out to be true.

I think the team will bring an updated floor edge to Suzuka. I assume that the team will not rebuild the entire floor from the throat to the diffuser.

[mwillems]

I think it is the front Aero including the area behind the wheels, not just the wing but yeah it could have a improve top speed and other characteristics, as well as the characteristic they are directly trying to fix.