McLaren MP4-26 Mercedes

[Poleman]

The way i see it now, McLaren really knew very well what they were doing with the MP4-26 in the pre-season testing.

Reliability is there...It was only shadowed by the exhaust solutions they were TESTING which is normal.The car looks incredibly balanced and efortless to drive and it looks like it is a very solid base for development.In reality the MP4-26 was quite a fast car out of the box.

[myurr]

For me that's the important thing. Being a brand new design it should have a lot more potential for development and refinement as the team works out what works and what doesn't and fine tunes the design.

It looks like the L shaped side pods may have more potential than simply going for the tightest rear possible, at least with this set of rules. I fully concede that it's far too early to tell, but it would be amusing if Red Bull had to introduce McLaren style side pods later in the year in order to keep in the hunt...

[Javert]

For me that's the important thing. Being a brand new design it should have a lot more potential for development and refinement as the team works out what works and what doesn't and fine tunes the design.

It looks like the L shaped side pods may have more potential than simply going for the tightest rear possible, at least with this set of rules. I fully concede that it's far too early to tell, but it would be amusing if Red Bull had to introduce McLaren style side pods later in the year in order to keep in the hunt...

Nope the L shaped side pods would change dramatically rear aero so McL will hold an advantage 'till next season

[volarchico]

Since both drivers reverted back to the "old titanium" floor, what improvements did they make to the MP4-26 to close the gap so much to the RB7?

[Shakeman]

The way i see it now, McLaren really knew very well what they were doing with the MP4-26 in the pre-season testing.

Reliability is there...It was only shadowed by the exhaust solutions they were TESTING which is normal.The car looks incredibly balanced and efortless to drive and it looks like it is a very solid base for development.In reality the MP4-26 was quite a fast car out of the box.

It looks absolutely planted and by far the best McLaren car for years at the beginning of the season.

I thought the exchange of looks Horner and Newey exchanged when Hamilton set his 1.35.000 was telling. This car has pace on a Red Bull favouring track.

The race is set up perfectly.

[Dragonfly]

Since both drivers reverted back to the "old titanium" floor, what improvements did they make to the MP4-26 to close the gap so much to the RB7?

Maybe it's not them making a big step, but RBR losing some of the speed due to installing the KERS.

[vinuneuro]

It's only the second race they've run this exhaust config. It's likely them having a better understanding of how to setup this new car more than anything else.

[myurr]

It's only the second race they've run this exhaust config. It's likely them having a better understanding of how to setup this new car more than anything else.

That's pretty much what Hamilton said. Better understanding of the car, better setup, plus a few minor tweaks, coupled with the circuit suiting the car a little bit more.

[ell66]

the thing that impresses me most is that te car looks so easy to drive,and as said above..its planted.
will be intresting to see if they can keep the tyres better than the red bulls.

[kakogohrena]

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[PlatinumZealot]

The U sidepods are really coming into their own now. In Malaysia Macca cranked up the down-force and still have a decent top speed. Very impressive.

[Afterburner]

.....

Why did you deleted the Mclaren flexy nose/wing picture?

[Afterburner]

The U sidepods are really coming into their own now. In Malaysia Macca cranked up the down-force and still have a decent top speed. Very impressive.

I'm seeing the top speed charts in qualy and both RB are faster than LH, considering they use mercedes power it doesn't seems to me so big deal.

[PlatinumZealot]

That's the thing, if the U-pods weren't there, they wouldn't have gotten away with running so much wing. I think they are adopting a RedBull philosophy when it comes to sacrificing some speed for DF, and with the U-sidpods you certainly have much less drag to begin with.

[ringo]

Since both drivers reverted back to the "old titanium" floor, what improvements did they make to the MP4-26 to close the gap so much to the RB7?

I don't think they're so close. It's the high speed sections of track, and the fact that redbull took off downforce off the car.
I think redbull may be thinking about the race in the long run than just qualifying.
But who really knows what's going on between the 2?
I guess we need the next race to see if the gap holds.

The L side pods do 2 things for them, reduce drag considerably, to allow them to slap downforce on the big barn door wing and snow plow.
It also keeps flow speed to the beam wing a little faster than the typical side pods.

I think mclaren simply are at a track where they have the best downforce to drag ratio.

They were very strong in malaysia last year as well so it could really be a good track for thier cars.