McLaren MCL34 speculation thread

[PhillipM]

Why would you be sure it's not the tea tray? It looks perfectly like the tea tray, the chassis is arcing down to the floor (can't think of anywhere else you'd have that sort of joint/angle) - you have the usual tea tray stay and it has the holes for mounting the plank and ballast right there.

[M840TR]

No way it's the cockpit. The thing is probably a flashlight or something of that sort.

Well, im sure it aint the T-tray either. It must be from internal structure somewhere. The only thing that pops into my mind is somewhere in the middle - space for a fuel tank behind the driver, without engine mounted on the chasis. The cilinder cant be a flashlight, atleast not from this century.

There's a vertical strut you can see clearly. Nothing like that is in the middle, especially not the fuel tank area.

[godlameroso]

That's very interesting, if it is the T tray then that's the shape of the tub.

[Big Tea]

It may help if we can decide what is being done. the one hand looks like a mechanics hand, but does not seem to be doing anything, the other has quite a long thumbnail. Possibly a tec of some sort? What is the red plastic? back of a torch?

It is probably the new pit wall booth

[Mattchu]

The hand on the right looks like it`s lifting up some kind of cover/flap with possibly the red cap covering up something behind that cover. The light looks like it`s being shone towards the hands, hence the light reflection on the cylinder bit top left.
I`m going for looking back down the hole left when the nose is off. The cylinder would be where the front of the Halo attaches/steering column. No seat fitted.

All guesswork, hopefully they`ll tell us...

[PhillipM]

It's probably part of the the battery/ERS down there so the red cap could be a warning cover for a connection/coolant port, etc, much like the tags used for coolant, oil, etc.

[_cerber1]

I think this is a cockpit, visible steering column. Assembly process.

[Mungbean]

https://imgur.com/a/x9kJDtZ

I lightened the image.. Looks like a mechanic retrieving the top of his Lucozade!

[GoranF1]

The picture is strange because it was taken from the engine.
And the engine is tilted 10° to increase diffuser area(a loophole mclaren has found)

Fire away!

[proteus]

The picture is strange because it was taken from the engine.
And the engine is tilted 10° to increase diffuser area(a loophole mclaren has found)

Fire away!

Goodbye reliability and goodbye testing mileage...

[mclaren111]

Why so negative ??

[_cerber1]

The picture is strange because it was taken from the engine.
And the engine is tilted 10° to increase diffuser area(a loophole mclaren has found)

Fire away!

How tilt can you increase the diffuser area?

[f1rules]

i think the tilt thing was discovered many years ago, by dont remember who, if mclaren went that route again i have no idea or if its even possible, but this trick was discussed some years ago

[PhillipM]

No, it's not. Goran's on the wind-up again. I think he's bored this week.
The only diffuser rumours I've heard from anywhere were about the possibility of using the rear crash structure to help link to the rear wing (I assume the crash structure position has changed with the rear wing changes but I haven't looked at the regs).

For trick stuff I have heard rumours that the brake duct changes may let you do funky things with them when the wheels are steered - because they're only defined in a static position (I assume mount them to the suspension members rather than the upright? If someone's got a model of the bounding boxes made up it might be worth a look? Or someone has access to the regs and the tech directives?), but I'd imagine that would be hell for airflow simulation. Mclaren have had enough fun with that already
That was on another forum though, not from a factory.

[proteus]

Why so negative ??

If the engine really is tilted, im afraid about lubricating it properly, therefore many problems may occur.