Vodafone McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes

[PlatinumZealot]

The track is a relatively slow top speed track.. so maybe they don't need as much frontal efficiency.

[stefan_]

[ell66]

I, too, was greatly amazed by the performance had with the Lotus-style FW. Even Button was able to get the pace through in the race.

It makes you really wonder about the Lotus chassis what they could do if they had a bit more straight-line speed with a Mercedes or Ferrari chassis. They used that FW style all year and Raikkonen is 3rd in the championship! On his first season back!

Is there a FW comparison thread per season?

Theres way more to a care than a front wing and engine. besides mclrens and lotus's are very different, they just copied that one bit.

[Sevach]

Just because they brought the old model doesn't mean they will run them.

[Forza]

Brazilian GP - Thursday

[onewingedangel]

The old/known front wing might be for evaluating the 2013 tyres - although if the new wing is intended to be the basis of next years concept you would think it would be used for the testing.

[Nando]

Can anyone explain in lay man terms how these things affect the air going "into" them and the air going over them?



Do the air going into them get slowed down as it passes out on the other end which in turn allows the faster air above the winglet to "catch on" the slower moving air and thus gets pulled onto the surface of the sidepods?

Or does it simply create some form of low pressure area just behind them which sucks the fast moving air above them to stick to the sidepods?

[Poleman]

Off topic but now that the season is over i have to say this: How wonderful car the MP4-27 was...Stunning ,easily the best looking car of the field,fast as well but shame it didnt get the results on all occations though.

[PhillipM]

Best car of the season tbh, in both looks and performance, only bad luck and a few bad decisions/issues from the team let the championship go really.

[munudeges]

That, with that car, was the best chance McLaren have had for some time and might have for some time to come.

[McMrocks]

For me it is the car with the most changed look over the year.
Nearly everything changed:
-Front wing
-Nose
-side pods
-exhaust position
-rearwing

Just compare a pic from Brazil with a picture from the test days in Jerez

[Crucial_Xtreme]

On Friday in Brazil McLaren tried two different rear wings to better evaluate the 2013 Pirelli tyres, using no less than 32 different levels of downforce. Jenson Button used the wing the team ran at Spa (inset), whilst team mate Lewis Hamilton used the one the team ran in Singapore (main drawing). For qualifying and the race at Interlagos both men used the team's higher downforce wing.

[Coefficient]

That, with that car, was the best chance McLaren have had for some time and might have for some time to come.

Yep, that sad but true. They threw it away with mistakes more characteristic of a fledgling team rather than a 47 year old one.

They could struggle next year also because they don't have Hamilton anymore. I reckon his presence at the team made JB find a couple of tenths extra that without the pressure he would have left on the table.

[astracrazy]

On Friday in Brazil McLaren tried two different rear wings to better evaluate the 2013 Pirelli tyres, using no less than 32 different levels of downforce. Jenson Button used the wing the team ran at Spa (inset), whilst team mate Lewis Hamilton used the one the team ran in Singapore (main drawing). For qualifying and the race at Interlagos both men used the team's higher downforce wing.

they may have run the two different wings, but they wouldn't of run 32 different levels of downforce - theres simply not enough time. That means each driver changed there downforce levels 16 times?

[Lycoming]

sounds tight but doable between 2 drivers and 2 practice sessions.