McLaren MCL35 Speculation Thread

[SmallSoldier]

So, I just needed a bit of clarification. Zak has said that, obviously McLaren can’t make or expect same kind of gains in 2020 as they did last year. So 0.5secs improvement being rumoured, are the reports suggesting net gains on the top teams or 0.5secs improvement between the 34 and the 35?

It’s about the gap to the top teams. They were ~1.5 sec off pole in 2019, so they want to defend 4th by narrowing this gap by a further 0.5 sec. Half a second gain year-on-year would leave them among the backmarkers as others’ relative gains would be more significant.

OK, but I have to say, my bigger worry is the race pace, It was considerably higher than the gap in qualifying. 0.5secs gain there won’t stop them from being lapped.

If the gains are coming from the chasis/aero then it will translate into race pace... The reason why the top 3 have such a difference in race pace to the rest of the field is because a better chasis/aero allows you to not only manage the tires better, it also allows you to carry more speed during cornering... Which is probably the biggest factor for such a huge difference in pace during the race... By maintaining or achieving higher speeds during cornering, you save fuel (which can be used elsewhere in the lap), your exit speeds and therefore max speed after a corner are higher.

During the race a good chasis will make more of a difference than a good engine (Ferrari and Mercedes last year for example... Or Mclaren in previous seasons (not 2018) where their race pace was way higher than their qualifying pace).


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[f1rules]

Lando posted this on his twitter

[Maplesoup]

Lando posted this on his twitter
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EP8ILlaX4AQ ... name=large

So looks like we've got a bit of a shark fin this year and they've got a solid amount of rake it seems

[Ground Effect]

Lando posted this on his twitter
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EP8ILlaX4AQ ... name=large

So looks like we've got a bit of a shark fin this year and they've got a solid amount of rake it seems

I think I read the shark fin is for clearer display of the drivers nbr, part of the small changes to the rules this year.

[the EDGE]

Lando posted this on his twitter
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EP8ILlaX4AQ ... name=large

So looks like we've got a bit of a shark fin this year and they've got a solid amount of rake it seems

I don’t believe you could tell the amount of fake run on a car without it’s wheels being attached

[Maplesoup]

Lando posted this on his twitter
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EP8ILlaX4AQ ... name=large

So looks like we've got a bit of a shark fin this year and they've got a solid amount of rake it seems

I don’t believe you could tell the amount of fake run on a car without it’s wheels being attached

Well I'll tell you that you definitely can, just look how high the nose is in the air. The front wing and front of the floor are going to be some of the lowest points of the car when it's on track.
How are they going to get those parts low enough without rake?

[bosyber]

The nosetip+frontwing aren't on that car yet; I really don't think that you could detect from the height of the safetycell front how raked the on-track car will be (remember they all still want that front part as high as the rules and practicality allow for more air under it).

[Emag]

Peter Prodromou had a talk at the Glasgow University today. Some guy who studies there kept notes about what he said and posted them on Reddit. Some key notes related to McLaren that he said:

1) <10 people in McLaren aero in 1992: now ~250 for top teams.
2) McLaren will shift to 2021 aggressively if they feel safely P4 early 2020.
3) There are 10 people at McLaren whose precise job is optimising the pipeline from idea -> design -> getting it on the car. Not the actual jobs: the process.
4) He is sceptical the 2021 rules will improve overtaking, but he is glad of them: they help McLaren, but the problem is they're not actually firm or set yet for good. He expects we will see immediate obvious differentiation, and actually a larger field spread, but the nature of the regs (which he likes) is that you will be able to copy the opposition and find their time much easier. (Supposition: so I guess we won't really see the final guises until the final test or Melbourne). So the cars will start further apart but converge hugely across the season, probably, because they're less 'devil in the detail' than the current regs are.

If you wish to look at everything you can check here: https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comme ... iew_notes/

[Vegetabill]

Lando posted this on his twitter
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EP8ILlaX4AQ ... name=large

Bet a certain Mr Dennis felt a tremor in the force when that milk bottle was left on display.

[ThePapayaJaguar]

Any comments about the wheelbase? This car looks shorter than the 34.

[Emag]

Any comments about the wheelbase? This car looks shorter than the 34.

You can't possibly make out the wheelbase from an image of a covered car shot in an awkward angle.

[ThePapayaJaguar]

Any comments about the wheelbase? This car looks shorter than the 34.

You can't possibly make out the wheelbase from an image of a covered car shot in an awkward angle.

I'm only speculating! But still it looks shorter than the 34.

[SmallSoldier]

Any comments about the wheelbase? This car looks shorter than the 34.

You can't possibly make out the wheelbase from an image of a covered car shot in an awkward angle.

I'm only speculating! But still it looks shorter than the 34.

It is the speculation thread after all... But, it’s impossible to infer the wheelbase from that picture... You can’t see the axles or any other reference points to make any meaningful calculation.

Last year’s McLaren was 29mm longer than the shortest wheelbase car (Red Bull’s)... Considering that they may have gone as short as the RB15 for this season, I don’t see how you could tell a difference of 20mm in wheelbase from that picture...

On the other hand and at roughly a week from the car been revealed, will a short or long wheelbase be the way to go? Rule of thumb says that a shorter one should help in the slow corners / sections... But Mercedes had the longest wheelbase last year and arguably where the ones to beat more often than in those sections... With the MCL35 been an evolution of the MCL34, I wouldn’t expect any major changes in it’s wheelbase, since they know what works and what doesn’t with it and major changes would add another variable into the mix.


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[kfrantzios]

You can't possibly make out the wheelbase from an image of a covered car shot in an awkward angle.

I'm only speculating! But still it looks shorter than the 34.

It is the speculation thread after all... But, it’s impossible to infer the wheelbase from that picture... You can’t see the axles or any other reference points to make any meaningful calculation.

Last year’s McLaren was 29mm longer than the shortest wheelbase car (Red Bull’s)... Considering that they may have gone as short as the RB15 for this season, I don’t see how you could tell a difference of 20mm in wheelbase from that picture...

On the other hand and at roughly a week from the car been revealed, will a short or long wheelbase be the way to go? Rule of thumb says that a shorter one should help in the slow corners / sections... But Mercedes had the longest wheelbase last year and arguably where the ones to beat more often than in those sections... With the MCL35 been an evolution of the MCL34, I wouldn’t expect any major changes in it’s wheelbase, since they know what works and what doesn’t with it and major changes would add another variable into the mix.


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Don't underestimate the power of eyeballing

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[Emag]

Don't mean to be rude, but there are people who are employed in the business for years and can barely deduce any important information from that picture. Doubt some sport enthusiast would do better.