McLaren MP4-26 Mercedes

[simplefan]

how can it be rubber when they've done next to no stints, the first 3 days (when these pics came out" they only did 1-2 lap runs before pitting.
not only that but it doesnt look like rubber at all, it looks like the paints melted off.

The one picture everyone seems to be focusing on was outside the garage in Jerez before they had even run any laps at Jerez. The clue here is laps at Jerez. McLaren had done one or two days promotional filming at a private manufacturers test track in Spain before bringing the car to Jerez. I'd say the test track was pretty dirty and the sand and dust has abraded the paint from the leading edges of the bargeboards, sidepods and other surfaces.

[myurr]

Anyone know what is this bulge?

That's part of the splitter / tea tray.

[ringo]

Anyone know what is this bulge?

You know, you can't put it past them running the exhaust in the splitter. I don't believe it, but it is what it is.

[Erotamu]

look like dolphin, eye and nose
interesting splitter, maybe somting hidden inside

[segedunum]

Funnily enough this nonsense happened last year, I turned out to be right and it all went a bit quiet.....

McLaren wasted a great deal of winter testing last year trying to get their F-duct to work, but when it came to the crunch they didn't have the raw downforce or cornering speed of other teams so when they then acquired F-ducts McLaren had nothing left and had to start doing the work they should have done in the winter. When you start testing three completely different ways of doing the same thing in a period of practical testing where you have no time then you're wasting it. Everyone bleated to me at the time that McLaren had the resources to do that as well. They clearly didn't.

Do one thing and do it well and make sure it adds real speed.

You aren't testing a single philosophy over and over. You decide on a direction that you're going to go in via simulation and wind tunnel testing that you're sure of and you then refine that in practical tests and make sure the practice matches the theory. Endless live testing where you throw resources at a problem, shift things in a completely different direction and ship things out endlessly from the factory over several weeks has long gone. I take it there was a reason why McLaren turned up late to these tests?

That is definitely not an exhaust in the splitter. Routing an exhaust there would be silly and impractical.

[Robbobnob]

just an idea, they could be using the bulb in a similar fashion to cargo ships to reduce the drag on the splitter??

Do one thing and do it well and make sure it adds real speed.

sounds like red bulls philosophy to me

[segedunum]

Whether it's Red Bull's philosophy or not is irrelevant. It seems to work.

Maybe we'll reflect on this in a few weeks, or not, as the case might be.....

[forty-two]

Funnily enough this nonsense happened last year, I turned out to be right and it all went a bit quiet.....

McLaren wasted a great deal of winter testing last year trying to get their F-duct to work, but when it came to the crunch they didn't have the raw downforce or cornering speed of other teams so when they then acquired F-ducts McLaren had nothing left and had to start doing the work they should have done in the winter. When you start testing three completely different ways of doing the same thing in a period of practical testing where you have no time then you're wasting it. Everyone bleated to me at the time that McLaren had the resources to do that as well. They clearly didn't.

Do one thing and do it well and make sure it adds real speed.

You aren't testing a single philosophy over and over. You decide on a direction that you're going to go in via simulation and wind tunnel testing that you're sure of and you then refine that in practical tests and make sure the practice matches the theory. Endless live testing where you throw resources at a problem, shift things in a completely different direction and ship things out endlessly from the factory over several weeks has long gone. I take it there was a reason why McLaren turned up late to these tests?

That is definitely not an exhaust in the splitter. Routing an exhaust there would be silly and impractical.

Seg, don't take this the wrong way, as I think you're a nice bloke and genrally I like reading your input, but your CONSTANT bleating about how Red Bull are wonderful and everyone else is dead in the water is, quite frankly getting right up my nose. It doesn't add anything to the discussion, and it threatens to take the thread in question WAY off topic, and worst of all it's at risk of feeding trolls.

Please, for the sake of my sanity at least, try to keep your comments relevant to the thread you're posting in, there is absolutely no need to keep bringing up Red Bull, we get it, you love em, they're brilliant... but don't be a bore eh?

End rant.

All said and done, no disrespect meant.

[Lindz]

I just want to point out that whether it was implied or not, seg never mentioned Red Bull in his post.

I read his post and thought 'I totally agree' and then I looked to see who wrote it and I said 'Oh, someone will harass him because it was 'Bullish'.'

I think until the next test starts it's a little quiet around here so people are looking to argue about anything.

[Remote_Access]

Funnily enough this nonsense happened last year, I turned out to be right and it all went a bit quiet.....

McLaren wasted a great deal of winter testing last year trying to get their F-duct to work, but when it came to the crunch they didn't have the raw downforce or cornering speed of other teams so when they then acquired F-ducts McLaren had nothing left and had to start doing the work they should have done in the winter. When you start testing three completely different ways of doing the same thing in a period of practical testing where you have no time then you're wasting it. Everyone bleated to me at the time that McLaren had the resources to do that as well. They clearly didn't.

Given McLaren was fairly competitive all year and in the running until the last race, I don't think things turned out as clearly as you claim. And for you to wonder why you have not received "apologies" is beyond comprehension. I thought you were just being antagonistic, but instead it's clear you just have no ability to understand how you come across to others.

As for McLaren's strategy (and others), it would seem they are focussed on validating the concepts developed over the winter, meanwhile working on reliability. You can only do that by running laps with the various configurations. Furthermore, some of the concepts employed by McLaren and other teams are quite novel, and therefore may be very difficult to simulate, either in CFD, a wind tunnel, or otherwise. They will necessarily require more time on track, and makes perfect sense.

To say they are unprepared because they haven't had the opportunity to validate their models in the real world is a bit silly, as teams are unable to perform private testing, either for rule- or resources-based reasons. And to suggest they should follow a straightforward and proven platform is equally nonsense, as the purpose is to overtake, not merely catch up.

[speedsense]

Funnily enough this nonsense happened last year, I turned out to be right and it all went a bit quiet.....

McLaren wasted a great deal of winter testing last year trying to get their F-duct to work, but when it came to the crunch they didn't have the raw downforce or cornering speed of other teams so when they then acquired F-ducts McLaren had nothing left and had to start doing the work they should have done in the winter. When you start testing three completely different ways of doing the same thing in a period of practical testing where you have no time then you're wasting it. Everyone bleated to me at the time that McLaren had the resources to do that as well. They clearly didn't.

Do one thing and do it well and make sure it adds real speed.

You aren't testing a single philosophy over and over. You decide on a direction that you're going to go in via simulation and wind tunnel testing that you're sure of and you then refine that in practical tests and make sure the practice matches the theory. Endless live testing where you throw resources at a problem, shift things in a completely different direction and ship things out endlessly from the factory over several weeks has long gone. I take it there was a reason why McLaren turned up late to these tests?

That is definitely not an exhaust in the splitter. Routing an exhaust there would be silly and impractical.

How many championships does Mclaren have again? Red Bull? To say that Mclaren doesn't know how to test, especially a team with the amount of resources that they have, second to no one and I dare to say even Ferrari ranks second there...

So far the MP4-26, has not been driven in anger, IMHO your early on your predictions....

Speaking of late for testing, wasn't it Red Bull who missed the first two tests last year, as Newey had to complete his aero simulations? They paid dearly in practical testing and reliability and made the season closer than it should have been.

The climbing of the mountain to reach a championship is a tough one, it's even a tougher one to say on top of the mountain and the roll down it is easier than you climbed it. The teams who have reached the top often, tend not to roll too far from the top when it happens, it's called experience....IMHO

Though I do agree with the exhaust in the center of the floor, would be impractical and useless.

[mtec80]

I think it's not the question of how many titles they have... It's more the question how many titles they lost especial in the last 10 years - it was always the same problem... Building a radical Car an without time to test the whole car. And who was the guy who constructed the last dominant McLaren (2008 was more the Situation that Ferrari lost the championchip) in 98 an 99? Oh Es, we can remember it was the Adrian Newey...

[speedsense]

I think it's not the question of how many titles they have... It's more the question how many titles they lost especial in the last 10 years - it was always the same problem... Building a radical Car an without time to test the whole car. And who was the guy who constructed the last dominant McLaren (2008 was more the Situation that Ferrari lost the championchip) in 98 an 99? Oh Es, we can remember it was the Adrian Newey...

And 2007, Mclaren should have won, they themselves lost it.... I don't take anything away from the greatest aero engineer in F1, Newey. But as an organization, Mclaren always seems to "linger" at the sharp end of the stick. Even with their radicalness and pushing the envelope.
Would they be there, lingering on a single concept? Or a conservative approach, I don't think so.

[marcush.]

they had that mp4-18 never raced ..who designed it?
In fact Mclaren is the one team that really has the expertise of running the "other" car and being competitive at the same time.

[volarchico]

just an idea, they could be using the bulb in a similar fashion to cargo ships to reduce the drag on the splitter??

Like this?

I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is a wave-drag reduction device and only works for surface ships (creating water waves).

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_making_resistance