Vodafone McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes

[munudeges]

I think it's a case of having too little rear downforce and McLaren are resorting to the 'monkey seat'. It's a pretty crude way of getting it.

[Pup]

Yes, there's no point in adding downforce if you can't do it stylishly.

[thisisatest]

regarding the "chimp seat" (fewer syllables), theyre running a simple diffuser so far. also, lewis hamilton on F1Fanatic.com:

“When we were off-power last year we had a tremendous amount of downforce just coming from the back floor with the exhaust-blown diffuser. We don’t have that this year which is really the biggest loss for us.”

He added: “It’s about finding the balance last year we obviously had a lot of weight and a lot of downforce on the rear of the car and we had to try to balance it with getting enough front end. This year I think it will be the other way around: having too much at the front and trying to find more rear.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/02/01/e ... n-drivers/

[kalinka]

"This year I think it will be the other way around: having too much at the front and trying to find more rear."

It could mean they could use a littlebit simplier FW, in aim to reduce drag...or the FW stays the same, but they just go with less AoA ? Front downforce shouldn't be the issue this year, so I wonder what developments we could see on FW if it's the case. Also does it mean the end of flexi FW saga - not worth the effort - too much DF anyway?
Yeah I know. Too much questions - too few answers

[MIKEY_!]

My pick is to vastly reduce AoA on the inner part of the FW, the bit not ahead of the tires. That will reduce drag a lot and also allow more air to reach the rear of the car. Expenditure on flexible wings may reduce but there is still much to be gained. The closer that wing gets the the ground the more DF it gives. Then the wing can have even less AoA for the same total DF.

Hope that helps.

[PlatinumZealot]

If I recall they used it for wet races in 11

Well there you go!

And that is why I didn't remember it.

Anyway point is they are "slapping on" rear down-force with it.

[wesley123]

My pick is to vastly reduce AoA on the inner part of the FW, the bit not ahead of the tires. That will reduce drag a lot and also allow more air to reach the rear of the car.

Why would you do that? I think recent years show pretty well that you can better have a lot of downforce than very little drag

The closer that wing gets the the ground the more DF it gives. Then the wing can have even less AoA for the same total DF.

Hope that helps.

Until you are too close to the ground and the wing will stall...

[PlatinumZealot]

Mclaren has never used a monkey seat in recent times so I think them resorting to it now when other top teams are not, is noteworthy.

Find us a quote where a team laments having too much rear downforce, and you may then use words like 'resorting'.

I said too much front and not enough rear down force.
Remember if you use a front wing that was balancing a 15,000 Newton downforce car, on a 12,000N downforce car, there is definitely going to be too much down-force at the front.

[kalinka]

My pick is to vastly reduce AoA on the inner part of the FW, the bit not ahead of the tires. That will reduce drag a lot and also allow more air to reach the rear of the car. Expenditure on flexible wings may reduce but there is still much to be gained. The closer that wing gets the the ground the more DF it gives. Then the wing can have even less AoA for the same total DF.

Agree in theory, but didn't we had to notice that dramatic AoA change on FW in Jerez? Can't recall anybody mentioned that. My eyes are not up to the task to determine that
Considering that most of the experts say they lost 20% DF at the rear, they must've adjusted that in Jerez already. Could it be visible on high-res photos, or it's too small to notice without measuring it up close ?
EDIT > which track in 2011 calendar has similar required DF level as Jerez ?

[PNSD]

Obviously other changes in the car from the 26 might have resulted in a more rearward bias, but eyes will not be able to detect changes in front wing angle of attack.

If someone could confirm but I believe 0.5 of a degree in front wing angle can alter the CoP +/-2%? Of course a rough figure.

[Pierce89]

My pick is to vastly reduce AoA on the inner part of the FW, the bit not ahead of the tires. That will reduce drag a lot and also allow more air to reach the rear of the car. Expenditure on flexible wings may reduce but there is still much to be gained. The closer that wing gets the the ground the more DF it gives. Then the wing can have even less AoA for the same total DF.

Agree in theory, but didn't we had to notice that dramatic AoA change on FW in Jerez? Can't recall anybody mentioned that. My eyes are not up to the task to determine that
Considering that most of the experts say they lost 20% DF at the rear, they must've adjusted that in Jerez already. Could it be visible on high-res photos, or it's too small to notice without measuring it up close ?
EDIT > which track in 2011 calendar has similar required DF level as Jerez ?

Hungary would be closest to Jerez

[N12ck]

interesting read :
http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/74 ... s-plastic-

[raymondu999]

Yup - that came to the fore some 2 weeks ago IIRC

[N12ck]

Ah yes sorry, I just seen it on the news and thought ohh

[Crucial_Xtreme]

Another image not seen yet of the flo-vis '27


image via Khan_F1