Mclaren Honda 2015

[GoranF1]

how was Alonso's time in s2 compared to Button? before puncture

[Joseki]

Very similar in S1, S2 Button was 0,2 second faster but Alonso had the puncture.

[GoranF1]

Mclaren has reduced the gap to Mercedes to less than 2 seconds now....and whit 30 km/h down on straights,woow thats a good car!

[Paul]

I have a feeling they decided in the last race to actually optimize the set up for best lap time, not to mask the lack of grunt as they have done previously, to see where they actually stand chassis wise...

[trinidefender]

I have a feeling they decided in the last race to actually optimize the set up for best lap time, not to mask the lack of grunt as they have done previously, to see where they actually stand chassis wise...

The only reason they would cut drag and accept the resulting downforce loss, or as you say to "mask the lack of grunt," is if it gave a better overall time on the circuit.

So I'm not actually sure what you mean by "optimise the set up for best lap time." That's what they always do.

[Paul]

Just look at their wing angles from this season, either they gain amazing downforce from other parts, or they have been cutting drag/downforce to be a bit less of sitting ducks on straights during the races. To the detriment of actual lap times they can do.

[Tauri_J]

http://www.fia.com/file/37211/download?token=AMbbv63R

[Phil]

The only reason they would cut drag and accept the resulting downforce loss, or as you say to "mask the lack of grunt," is if it gave a better overall time on the circuit

As most of overtaking is done on the straights, it might be beneficial to compromise a little downforce for a better top speed if it means you can defend better. The best setup lap time wise is best when you are running time attack with no opponents around you (or when running at the front and can run off into the distance).

[Andres125sx]

That will always depend on the track, and the impact of straights and fast and medium speed corners in laptimes.

For some tracks reducing wing may be worth if, for example, the track has very long straights, while for some others it may not be worth because the straights are not that long and there are a lot of corners where DF make a huge difference

Also, as Phil said, strategy also play his role. They not always setup the car for fastest laptimes if that means in the straights your competitors will pass you too easily


But I´m also curious about their setup for AD, ok the straights are not very long, but 27km/h top speed deficit must be a lot of lost time. Can they really compensate that in the corners with a setup prepared for the twisty seccion?

[Joseki]

I've seen a lot of onboard footage from today and it's not like they get the top speed at the and of the long strait, the car actually runs out of ERS 200-300 meters before the braking zone and start slowing down, the actual top speed I've seen is 4-5 km/h faster.

[bauc]

I've seen a lot of onboard footage from today and it's not like they get the top speed at the and of the long strait, the car actually runs out of ERS 200-300 meters before the braking zone and start slowing down, the actual top speed I've seen is 4-5 km/h faster.

Do you maybe have link from Button's Q2 lap ? Thanks

[GoranF1]

If Mp4-31 is not good in first two or three test sessions next winter i will be taking a sabbatical year from F1 forums.
Thank you.

[Joseki]

I've seen a lot of onboard footage from today and it's not like they get the top speed at the and of the long strait, the car actually runs out of ERS 200-300 meters before the braking zone and start slowing down, the actual top speed I've seen is 4-5 km/h faster.

Do you maybe have link from Button's Q2 lap ? Thanks

No i'm sorry I watched the qualy session on SKY Italy, they offer a channel called "race control" split in four parts: the FOM feed, GPS, live timing and an onboard channel which today showed a lot of McLaren's footage.

It's a full screen version of what you can see here listed as number 5:

[trinidefender]

Just look at their wing angles from this season, either they gain amazing downforce from other parts, or they have been cutting drag/downforce to be a bit less of sitting ducks on straights during the races. To the detriment of actual lap times they can do.

Because they lack so much power and know on many straights they run out of energy for the MGU-K half way down I think they know they will get overtaken on the straights anyway. If they reduce drag past the optimal lap time point then it also means they will have a harder time overtaking other using strategy. For many of the laps they run in clear air trying to keep up with group in front of them, if they reduce their downforce to defend on straights then it will also mean they have a harder time trying to keep up with cars in front.

I'm not saying they don't reduce downforce, I'm saying that, at least my thinking, it makes more sense to generally go for ultimate lap times. Then again they have formulas and algorithms to work this out. We only have gut feelings.

[Paul]

Yes, exactly, that was my feeling. I don't think they have been this far off in top speed this season. And in the race, where they won't have the luxury of starting the lap with full batteries, this might get worse. So, while thinking about explanations, I came up with this. Mainly based on how close they were to getting to Q3, which means they were mighty through the squiggly stuff.