McLaren MP4-26 Mercedes

[feynman]

- FIA anti-tamper covers only appeared this year.

- McLaren changed to white garages from black, but only a few races into the season.

A google image search of 'MP4-25 Bahrain' gives this:


http://en.espnf1.com/mercesdes/motorspo ... 11831.html


for your comparison, the new MP4-26 photo,

[ajdavison2]

arnt they the same picture :S

[ell66]

arnt they the same picture :S

errr yes, thats what he's trying to prove.

[myurr]

Okay egg has met my face Guess I got a little too excited there then...

And the lumps over the side pods are in fact the wing mirrors.

[ajdavison2]

yeah I know that, just the word 'comparison' got me scanning the pictures for differences hahah

[feynman]

Okay egg has met my face Guess I got a little too excited there then...

Wouldn't feel too bad about it ... especially with dubious image use and non-existing captioning on mainstream, MSN/ESPN sites like this to contend with:

http://sport.uk.msn.com/f1/news/article ... =155840493

A story from mid-January all about the later launch, with an image of a mystery car under wraps and absolutely nothing to reference the date or source of the image. I'd guess it was a story exactly like this published somewhere, and then blogged, translated a couple of times, and then reblogged to get us here.

[raymondu999]

mp4 26 first pic, under cover.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... CB8Q9QEwAg

Enhanced:



Looks like a higher nose but I think I can just make out a snowplow again underneath. Lower edge of the wing also appears to be flatter than the end of 2010 wing. Also is there something strange going on around the top of the side pods? They seem awfully bulky further back to the side of the snorkel.

I think this is the Bahrain-spec MP4-25. I see a slight hump on the nose where the f-duct snorkel used to be, and the cascade element on the FW is the launch spec, not even the Suzuka-spec front wing.

[wesley123]

IMO it is just the 25 under there lol

[mith]

Thanks for clearing this out. So we're still waiting

[luca]

"Drastic" was the word I was told, I haven't seen it but my contact has. Here it is in context "No the mp4-26 is pretty different, its quite drastic and should give you a lot to write about"

I'm glad to hear that. I can't wait!

[ESPImperium]

Looks like its gonna be a Abu Dhabi spec MP4/25 with a new air box, Hamilton/Monza engine cover and a few other small changes.

Let them get out there tomorrow and we will see what is on the MP4/25 Interim car.

[xv323]

I wonder if Mclaren will run a double-deck-diffuser or any of their various permutations of the blown diffuser from last year. On the one hand they want as close a platform as possible to what they had last year to make a good comparison between the Bridgestones and the Pirellis, whilst on the other hand they might be losing out on the opportunity to get some aero data on single deck diffusers and the like. Plus ofc fitting a single deck diffuser to a car designed for a DDD would presumably be very difficult.

This is all assuming it'd be legal for them to run a DDD in testing. Does anyone know what the regulations state on this? Does a car taking part in an F1 test session have to comply to the aero rules for that season?

Thinking of the post-'08, pre-'09 season tests, as well as all that pitot-tube aero measurement paraphenalia they normally stick on the cars during preseason testing, I'm guessing the answer is no...?

PS If Mclaren do run their DDD in Valencia, should we be expecting them to be temporarily a lot faster than everyone else? =P

[gridwalker]

Hi there, welcome to the forum!

If you look up the thread for the MP4/24, you will see that there are plenty of photos of the McLaren 2009 car running a 2008 spec wing.

Official test sessions do not require the car to be running the same aerodynamic formula as is specified for the season; many teams run apparatus for checking their car's aerodynamic performance that would be deemed illegal during a race session, so prohibiting teams from running items that could be deemed illegal would have a negative effect upon their ability to tune the cars.

I hope this answers your question!

[myurr]

I believe the same is even true for Friday practice sessions. It's only when the car is presented to scrutineering that it has to comply.

[xv323]

Hi there, welcome to the forum!

If you look up the thread for the MP4/24, you will see that there are plenty of photos of the McLaren 2009 car running a 2008 spec wing.

Official test sessions do not require the car to be running the same aerodynamic formula as is specified for the season; many teams run apparatus for checking their car's aerodynamic performance that would be deemed illegal during a race session, so prohibiting teams from running items that could be deemed illegal would have a negative effect upon their ability to tune the cars.

I hope this answers your question!

I've been lurking on this forum for a while I'm ashamed to admit...Been using it as my source of info for the car launches since 2010, but only just got around to signing up...

Anyhoo, yup that does answer my question, thanks! I saw the pics this time last year of the teams, Mclaren in particular, running around with bits of what looked like a combine harvester plastered to their car. In that case I didn't know if that bit counted as part of the car, or whether it counted as something akin to the TV cameras - an attachment. I'd also seen the 2008-9 interim cars, with all the weird aero mixes, but I'd presumed that might've been special dispensation for the teams given the scope of the rule changes between those 2 seasons. They did run a lot of tests that winter if I remember correctly...