Vodafone McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes

[bonjon1979]

Just beautiful, best car for looks by a country mile.

[ianwit]

From the BBC Live Feed, interesting. Must get on with some work now!

BBC Sport's chief F1 writer Andrew Benson

"There is a certain amount of anxiety among fans of McLaren that their car is the only one so far not to feature a stepped 'platypus' nose. There is a rumour going around that this is all part of a cunning plan. The lower nose regulation was originally planned for 2011, but was delayed by a year. The rumour goes that McLaren built their 2011 chassis and crash structure to conform to the stepped nose regs and were effectively running it all last year - which would make McLaren months ahead of their rivals in optimising the aerodynamics of the new rules. I ran this by an experienced F1 engineer, and the response was: 'Sounds like a good story to cover up a bit of a screw-up.' Time will tell."

[Lurk]

Just the same BS that was already said.
They didn't run their low nose just last year, they always ran a low nose.

[adrianjordan]

How are those exhaust fairings (for want of a better term) not falling fowl of the no bodywork in a cone behind the end of the exhaust pipe?

[Raptor22]

cars only need to conform at the first race. testing is a free for all

[Shakeman]

cars only need to conform at the first race. testing is a free for all

What would be the reason for testing a part that cannot be raced?

Is it a testing part making exhaust setups easier to find the optimum position for the race version?

[Chalke]

Aside from the exhaust slots, also now visible on this pic are a new monkey-seat, reduced size engine cover exit and an all-around slot on the diffuser edge.

[raymondu999]

Why would those slitted exhaust bulges not contravene the regs (the one about there being no bodywork 3 degrees either way of the exhaust exit?)

[Raptor22]

cars only need to conform at the first race. testing is a free for all

What would be the reason for testing a part that cannot be raced?

Is it a testing part making exhaust setups easier to find the optimum position for the race version?

I don;t have first hand information on their test programme so I can only assume that at the momnt they are running it to gauge basic opertion of the car.
A final, conformin component may be in the workflow our perhaps they have a radiator exit that will fit there at a future test.At this point its all just speculation.

I.e. the y could have an idea to use a fluidic switch to either dump hot under engine cover out the back via the rear most exit or have it drawn out via an exit surrounding the exhaust.

[Gridlock]

Why would those slitted exhaust bulges not contravene the regs (the one about there being no bodywork 3 degrees either way of the exhaust exit?)

Because 3 degrees isn't that much, at the distance from the exit we're looking at here. A 6-deg arc (3 either side) is only 1/15th of a right angle, if you see what I mean. So the bodywork might have to be 3-4cm from the exhaust walls at 15cm back.

[paipa]

Why would those slitted exhaust bulges not contravene the regs (the one about there being no bodywork 3 degrees either way of the exhaust exit?)

Because 3 degrees isn't that much, at the distance from the exit we're looking at here. A 6-deg arc (3 either side) is only 1/15th of a right angle, if you see what I mean. So the bodywork might have to be 3-4cm from the exhaust walls at 15cm back.

3 degrees is so little that it only requires an 8 millimetre clearance in 15 cms. If the slit is about 1.6 cms wider than the exhaust diameter it's most probably legal as long as they share the same axis.

[zgred]

[Alexgtt]

Very similar gurney slot and diffuser top to the Ferrari.

[Raptor22]

Top plane of the win is separated from the main plane at theend plate.
Iguess they hinge it from the two fences and operate DRS from there too?

[Crucial_Xtreme]

High res shot of McLaren rear & diffuser. right click>view image