McLaren MCL32 Honda

[ollandos]

This picture shows the very strong vortex coming off the front side of the floor by the edge of the barge boards. Clockwise looking forward on the right side of the car.

http://i.imgur.com/CNVgjiG.jpg

drs open with wet tires? and a good sing with US car make 275.5 km/h on start line ...5.5km/h more from his second best so far

[turbof1]

is that good or bad? i don't know anything about aero...

Let's just say it is doing what it is supposed to do, sealing the floor. But, this is just a snapshot of a moment. It is not giving any information how it behaves in yaw or across different speeds, or whether the sealing effect is good enough.

[gdogg371]

It's been said on here several times, but I would be shocked if that floor is the finished article. It looks like the floor you would get if it was an FIA mandated standard part to reduce costs or something.

[Thunder]

Mother Nature makes pretty good FlowViz too...

[Coefficient]

It's been said on here several times, but I would be shocked if that floor is the finished article. It looks like the floor you would get if it was an FIA mandated standard part to reduce costs or something.

Or if they'd sold you a show car.

[turbof1]

There is not much you can do with the floor other than in the bargeboard area. Regulation nearly made this a single spec part.

[gdogg371]

There is not much you can do with the floor other than in the bargeboard area. Regulation nearly made this a single spec part.

it does look very plain compared to the mercedes floor in particular though.

[shady]

Its plain by mcl standards.. up till last year.

[f1rules]

this do seem a basic first test floor, there is definitly more to come from a new version, firstly this vers. dont use the cutout section at the front everyone else is exploiting this year, sec. the cuts infront of the rear wheels, to help seal the diffuser is not there either, surprisingly, so no doubt, a huge update will be made in this area

[gdogg371]

Mclaren do seem to develop in season at an absolutely furious pace, it is just that they have started from a few average concepts at best since 2009 and have always been too far back to mount a title challenge. If they start with a fundamentally good car that needs a bit of work there is every chance they could leapfrog Force India, Toro Rosso, Ferrari and Williams during the season even if they start off behind them all.

[makecry]

Do we have a list of changes or different things they tried over past 4 days?

[CLKGTR]

Technical overview - What brings new McLaren Honda MCL32?

[mrluke]

The only comment I have seen about the Mclaren performance on track was from Gary Anderson saying Mclaren cannot blame Honda for a lack of power, they cannot even use what they have, appeared very lacking in overall grip levels.

I also can't see why they would test a floor with a fundamentally different aero concept to the one they want to race with. Which other teams are doing this?

[flmkane]

warning: I'm guessing and stating my opinion, not yet sure of the facts.

From what I've been seeing in F1 in the Pirelli era, when a team has serious grip issues it might be due to suspension and mechanical grip factors, rather than aero or engine. Case in point, pre 2014 Mercedes, Ferrari and perhaps Mclaren in 2014, with their butterfly suspension.

I'm GUESSING that perhaps these guys are simply not being able to set up their chassis correctly, especially given a completely new prototype PU that is misbehaving right now. Also it should be considered that the PU will change in a few days. Perhaps they are not even TRYING to set up the chassis for this PU, maybe they are simply trying to get data to confirm aerodynamic correlation between the wind tunnel, simulations and the track. Furthermore, it's possible that they are trying to get some data about tyre performance, which in my opinion would explain Alonso trying to push so hard in testing.

Despite the terribly bad performance that Mclaren has had, I think it's a bit premature to really write them off right now.

[Xero]

Completely agree flmkane.

With regards to a basic looking floor, it's my view they are simply testing a base design in this new and different layout. Once they understand how the base works with the rest of the car, then they can start cutting slots and adding shapes to fine-tune the airflow where needed.

It may also be the case (which has been hinted by Eric Boullier) that they have something special yet to come in that area. He's been quoted several times suggesting that when other teams see it, they may lodge protests, but that they are convinced their innovation is legal. I can't see anything fitting that description yet, so it may be some sort of floor/diffuser design that they're holding close to their chests for now (less time to copy). Of course, it could be something else entirely.