McLaren MCL35M

[mwillems]

I didn't really consider that one a Mercedes cape. Its certainly mclaren's own thing for their nose design. It very likely works differentlty too.

That's more of a subjective opinion though, don't you think?

No its not.

They work differently. That is not clear to you as the technical level of the threads have dropped markedly over the years with less effort to break down features by way of sketches and deep technical reasoning. Even runs in CFD were used by some users.

The Mercedes cape creates the side vortex differently. Look carefully. Stop trying to force it be so just because its a thing under the nose.

Anyway. This is off topic. The thread is about the new car. Which does have a Mercedes cape that was tested a few times last year before McLaren got it tuned to the satisfaction. ( another peice of evidence that this was new to them).

Whether they work in the same way is not the same as whether the idea came from elsewhere though.

Thats why it is subjective. And yes you are right about the detail in this thread.

[McFAN]

Good graphic highlighting the changes
Probably a more accurate reflection of the change to wheelbase

[rgava]

Taken from the Alpha Tauri car thread:

Not to say one is any better than another but certainly gives an indication of McLaren looking slimmer with the new engine packaging.

Whether Red Bull achieve a tighter packaging with Honda remains to be seen but the Mercedes PU layout certainly helps McLarens packaging at the rear. I’m sure there are compromises in other areas with the tokens but worth a share.

https://i.imgur.com/1Idw8AW.jpg

Honestly, I don't see MCL rear packaging as tighter than Alpha Tauri.

I see wider floor space in front of the tire on the AT and, if you follow the path of the Alpha Tauri words on the sidepod, it is at least as narrow as the MCL. Same happens with the widest point at the front, It is wider in the MCL.
I think the top-bottom slope of the AT-RB style sidepods is misleading on the comparative image.

[M840TR]

https://i.imgur.com/1Idw8AW.jpg

Taken from the Alpha Tauri car thread:

Not to say one is any better than another but certainly gives an indication of McLaren looking slimmer with the new engine packaging.

Whether Red Bull achieve a tighter packaging with Honda remains to be seen but the Mercedes PU layout certainly helps McLarens packaging at the rear. I’m sure there are compromises in other areas with the tokens but worth a share.

https://i.imgur.com/1Idw8AW.jpg

Honestly, I don't see MCL rear packaging as tighter than Alpha Tauri.

I see wider floor space in front of the tire on the AT and, if you follow the path of the Alpha Tauri words on the sidepod, it is at least as narrow as the MCL. Same happens with the widest point at the front, It is wider in the MCL.
I think the top-bottom slope of the AT-RB style sidepods is misleading on the comparative image.

From top it might seem so but you might just be referring to the overhang which is more pronounced on the Mcl but the coke bottle is tighter.

[_cerber1]

I see wider floor space in front of the tire on the AT and, if you follow the path of the Alpha Tauri words on the sidepod, it is at least as narrow as the MCL. Same happens with the widest point at the front, It is wider in the MCL.
I think the top-bottom slope of the AT-RB style sidepods is misleading on the comparative image.

To understand how tightly packed McLaren is, you need to look from this angle.

[Emag]

Honestly, I don't see MCL rear packaging as tighter than Alpha Tauri.

I see wider floor space in front of the tire on the AT and, if you follow the path of the Alpha Tauri words on the sidepod, it is at least as narrow as the MCL. Same happens with the widest point at the front, It is wider in the MCL.
I think the top-bottom slope of the AT-RB style sidepods is misleading on the comparative image.

AlphaTauri has a little bit more floor. Maybe the regulations allow for that extra bit and it's deceiving you. Even from the topdown view, McLaren is the tightest car out of the ones released so far:



But top-down view fails to consider the packaging philosophy. McLaren has such a huge undercut, that technically speaking you could say it's almost twice as thin as it appears in the topdown view in certain areas. Because there's clear space below.

To better judge the massive undercut that McLaren has, look at this other picture (The angle doesn't matter too much for what I am trying to show, because you don't need super precision to see this):



Look how "smoothly" the sidepods "swoop" down in the AlphaTauri and in the Alfa Romeo, whereas in the McLaren, you get an aggressive turn towards the chassis before it "swoops" down to the floor.

[mclaren111]

Honestly, I don't see MCL rear packaging as tighter than Alpha Tauri.

I see wider floor space in front of the tire on the AT and, if you follow the path of the Alpha Tauri words on the sidepod, it is at least as narrow as the MCL. Same happens with the widest point at the front, It is wider in the MCL.
I think the top-bottom slope of the AT-RB style sidepods is misleading on the comparative image.

AlphaTauri has a little bit more floor. Maybe the regulations allow for that extra bit and it's deceiving you. Even from the topdown view, McLaren is the tightest car out of the ones released so far:

https://i.imgur.com/sMXnNJO.jpg

But top-down view fails to consider the packaging philosophy. McLaren has such a huge undercut, that technically speaking you could say it's almost twice as thin as it appears in the topdown view in certain areas. Because there's clear space below.

To better judge the massive undercut that McLaren has, look at this other picture (The angle doesn't matter too much for what I am trying to show, because you don't need super precision to see this):

https://i.imgur.com/xakbBKV.jpg

Look how "smoothly" the sidepods "swoop" down in the AlphaTauri and in the Alfa Romeo, whereas in the McLaren, you get an aggressive turn towards the chassis before it "swoops" down to the floor.

[kfrantzios]

Honestly, I don't see MCL rear packaging as tighter than Alpha Tauri.

I see wider floor space in front of the tire on the AT and, if you follow the path of the Alpha Tauri words on the sidepod, it is at least as narrow as the MCL. Same happens with the widest point at the front, It is wider in the MCL.
I think the top-bottom slope of the AT-RB style sidepods is misleading on the comparative image.

AlphaTauri has a little bit more floor. Maybe the regulations allow for that extra bit and it's deceiving you. Even from the topdown view, McLaren is the tightest car out of the ones released so far:

https://i.imgur.com/sMXnNJO.jpg

But top-down view fails to consider the packaging philosophy. McLaren has such a huge undercut, that technically speaking you could say it's almost twice as thin as it appears in the topdown view in certain areas. Because there's clear space below.

To better judge the massive undercut that McLaren has, look at this other picture (The angle doesn't matter too much for what I am trying to show, because you don't need super precision to see this):

https://i.imgur.com/xakbBKV.jpg

Look how "smoothly" the sidepods "swoop" down in the AlphaTauri and in the Alfa Romeo, whereas in the McLaren, you get an aggressive turn towards the chassis before it "swoops" down to the floor.

Actually you need the volume from the end of the floor to the body of the car. And from what we have seen from McLaren i expect it to be bested only by Merc.

[AliMc]

Does anyone know why there is a bump on the floor ahead of the rear wheels, above the kaust logo? I've seen it on a few cars but I don't think it was on last years mcl.

[the EDGE]

Does anyone know why there is a bump on the floor ahead of the rear wheels, above the kaust logo? I've seen it on a few cars but I don't think it was on last years mcl.

It’s a tyre temperature sensor

[CjC]

So, I know it’s early to say much as we have only had 3 car launches but Alfa and Alpha have spent their tokens on the front end to counter the loss of rear downforce due to the smaller floor. Mclaren have had to spend their tokens on the rear to fit the Merc. Will this hamper their aero performance do we think?
I’m interested to see where the others spend their tokens, Red Bull will give us more of an idea tomorrow

[DiogoBrand]

Good graphic highlighting the changes
Probably a more accurate reflection of the change to wheelbase
https://cdn-1.motorsport.com/images/a ... n-mcl.jpg

I've seen people talking before about how the cooling openings are a new thing. Aren't teams able to open and close those as needed on pretty much all the cars?

[Macklaren]

So, I know it’s early to say much as we have only had 3 car launches but Alfa and Alpha have spent their tokens on the front end to counter the loss of rear downforce due to the smaller floor. Mclaren have had to spend their tokens on the rear to fit the Merc. Will this hamper their aero performance do we think?
I’m interested to see where the others spend their tokens, Red Bull will give us more of an idea tomorrow

except McL already switched their nose concept last year so they should be fine?

[CjC]

So, I know it’s early to say much as we have only had 3 car launches but Alfa and Alpha have spent their tokens on the front end to counter the loss of rear downforce due to the smaller floor. Mclaren have had to spend their tokens on the rear to fit the Merc. Will this hamper their aero performance do we think?
I’m interested to see where the others spend their tokens, Red Bull will give us more of an idea tomorrow

except McL already switched their nose concept last year so they should be fine?

True, I see Alfa spent theirs on a slim nose, but Alpha? They still have an old fat nose, they also reckon they have recuperated the lost performance so was wondering if they have found something/ have been able to do something that Mclaren haven’t?

[JordanMugen]

True, I see Alfa spent theirs on a slim nose, but Alpha? They still have an old fat nose, they also reckon they have recuperated the lost performance so was wondering if they have found something/ have been able to do something that Mclaren haven’t?

AlphaTauri had the slim nose years ago, in the era of outwash front wings, snowplough-less design, high-mount crash structures, and simple(r) bargeboards. It can't be all that essential.



For reference, the 2017 McLaren:


The evolution of the cars in such a short span of time is quite remarkable! The rudimentary nature of the wing mirrors on these 2017 cars is most jarring.