McLaren MP4-26 Mercedes

[astracrazy]

They must have found that the thing was very effective to have gone to all of the effort of effectively designing the car around it.

And to have used up every test they had trying to make it work.

exactly. you have to wonder where the car would be now had they have had this exhaust design originally and then spent testing trying other developments (such as improving front downforce which was mentioned earlier). In some ways its a shame - but they clearly thought it worth it

i fully expect to see this crop up many times on friday practice to try and get it to work. I'd like to know how much they feel it is worth compared to the system they used this weekend

i know we are on a different subject but i found the answer to my own question on the bbc site and thought i would share

"McLaren reckon their simulation says there is one second per lap of potential in the trick exhaust it abandoned prior to Australia, if only it can be made to function properly."

so if it had worked, it would have but them easily on the pace of the red bulls

[raymondu999]

The problem is they didn't get it to work, and at the end of the day that's what counts

[forty-two]

forty-two -> That's just the bend where the diffuser and floor meet. No ridge there, just a bend in the carbon fiber.

And the next one who says the word asymmetrical...



I will frown at him very hard.

For the picture comparison, only the front wheels are aligned. The rear of the car is slightly off, and considering the fact that suspensions are mobile, the tubs certainly aren't aligned.

Gives a bit of info on how the suspensions are set up though...

Yes, I too thought that it was simply an optical illusion, created by the light hitting that bend being reflected more than elsewhere. I was merely responding to someone else's question.

As for the lack of symmetry (note I didn't use the "A" word!), I'm still no closer to understanding why this image suggests that the gurneys either side of the crash structure appear to be dissimilar in size.

[Owen.C93]

The beam wing isn't particularly effective in the center of the car due to lack of air flow. Notice the red-bulls obstructs the center of the diffuser, which is much more important.

[mx_tifoso]

Recent discussion comparing the RB7 and the MP4-26 has been moved to the following thread:
Comparison of all 2011 cars

[Owen.C93]

MP4-26 wheel:


(Right click to view high res)

Here's a McLaren article on it.
http://mclaren.com/page/our-2011-spec-steering-wheel

[Just_a_fan]

If McLaren carry on developing the exhaust raced in Oz, I wonder if they'll be able to reduce the size of the rear of the sidepods. It looks like they're as big as they are to accommodate the now-redundant U-bend exhaust. If that goes, I wonder if they'll pinch the sidepods in. If they do, they'll be a bit closer to the RB7 in terms of side air flow to the rear end but with the benefit of the cut out sidepod tops.

I'm going to watch this area with interest to see what they do. I think there is performance scope there...

[Florio]

If McLaren carry on developing the exhaust raced in Oz, I wonder if they'll be able to reduce the size of the rear of the sidepods. It looks like they're as big as they are to accommodate the now-redundant U-bend exhaust. If that goes, I wonder if they'll pinch the sidepods in. If they do, they'll be a bit closer to the RB7 in terms of side air flow to the rear end but with the benefit of the cut out sidepod tops.

I'm going to watch this area with interest to see what they do. I think there is performance scope there...

I thought the general feeling was that the RB style exhausts on the McLaren were only until they could get the more radical exhaust working?

[forty-two]

^^^ That's certainly the impression I came away with too, but I have not actually heard that from anyone at McLaren. Have you?

[feynman]

MP4-26 wheel:

Lewis Hamilton's wheel in fact.

Was just looking at some onboards, and Button has the OT and Flap buttons reversed. I recall he is a southpaw, so that makes sense, but interesting to see the customisation.

[feynman]

nicked from @adamcooperf1:

Not sure what exactly was holding the front piece of plank on for 20-odd laps, I wonder if it finally fell off when Lewis started poking around with it.

[hecti]

MP4-26 wheel:


(Right click to view high res)

Here's a McLaren article on it.
http://mclaren.com/page/our-2011-spec-steering-wheel

I'd like to see the back side of the steering wheel to see how many paddles they have.
It looks so much cleaner than ferrari's as well, Clutter free and easy for the driver to turn the correct knob

[Owen.C93]

Best I could find unfortunately.



Right click-view image to see full size.

[bhall]

MP4-26 wheel:


(Right click to view high res)

Here's a McLaren article on it.
http://mclaren.com/page/our-2011-spec-steering-wheel

I'd like to see the back side of the steering wheel to see how many paddles they have.
It looks so much cleaner than ferrari's as well, Clutter free and easy for the driver to turn the correct knob

Yeah, and I like the handy dandy guards in place around the Neutral and Pitlane Speed Limiter buttons to keep Lewis from engaging either during a critical part of the race. (If only such protection was in place on the McLaren wheel in 2007... I kid, I kid.)

[McG]

The McLaren is a brand new design that has more scope for fine tuning as the team learns what works and what doesn't, and how to get the best from it. They also haven't had much running to date so probably have more scope for setup improvements.

Red Bull and Ferrari are evolutions of well known concepts so should already be closer to their optimum, barring a substantial change in concept (like adding L side pods or FEE, if they prove to be the better designs, etc.)

I said the same thing a while back on here. Crap search function on here for individual posts though.

I still hope it's the case that as Hamilton said recently... McLaren are a “relentless development machine”. =D>