McLaren MP4-28 (pre-launch speculation)

[raymondu999]

I think it's more the tunnel +ramp as a system that is being referred to here though, rather than just the sloped sidepod.

[turbof1]

The biggest question would be if McLaren is interested in that. The Red Bull tunnel was more constructed out of a need then to get an advantage out of it: to make sure airflow around the sidepods don't get mixed up with exhaust flow. Red Bull somehow had a big problem with that, while McLaren never ever complained about that.

Interestingly though, Red Bull introduced a shorter ramp structure in the last races, allowing apperently to pull down the exhaust gasses much earlier, probably allowing to guide the exhaust gasses better then before. All eventually depends on which method spills the least amount of the gas airflow.

[dren]

I think it's more the tunnel +ramp as a system that is being referred to here though, rather than just the sloped sidepod.

Yup, that's what I mean when I say Red Bull ramp.

[munudeges]

The nose will be much higher and they won't repeat their biggest development mistake of last year.

[Holm86]

The nose will be much higher and they won't repeat their biggest development mistake of last year.

Bigger?? Why should it be bigger.

And they didnt lose the development race last year. They lost because of poor reliability and bad team decisions/errors.

[wesley123]

The nose will be much higher and they won't repeat their biggest development mistake of last year.

much higher? I am quite sure their nose was on maximum height. They only can go with the step nose and clear another 2cm in that area

[turbof1]

The nose will be much higher and they won't repeat their biggest development mistake of last year.

much higher? I am quite sure their nose was on maximum height. They only can go with the step nose and clear another 2cm in that area

Those nose tip still can be higher. The biggest problem was that the bulkhead of the chassis was too low and too much downwards curved to make the nose tip any higher. I think they can gain another 5-8 centimeters with a stepped nose.

[munudeges]

Bigger?? Why should it be bigger.

They lost a large volume of air to work with that ultimately cost them performance after the first few races. They then realised their mistake and had to work within the limitations of their own chassis. The nose will be higher, relatively speaking of course.

And they didnt lose the development race last year. They lost because of poor reliability and bad team decisions/errors.

That's the problem with short memories and I'm afraid it was both. After the first four races they fell backwards a long way from the lead they had at the beginning of the season. They should have had enough of a performance lead by the time Red Bul worked out what was going on to have won both championships regardless. They should never have ended up behind Ferrari in a month of Sundays.

[dren]

Yes, they had the splitter/plow under the low nose to start the season. They then went with a higher nose, but were limited due to their chassis height. They can max it out, and likely will with the 28.

Button and Hamilton cruised to a 1-2 in the first race. I think Button thought he had another BrawnGP car after that race. It was likely the team just nailed the tire and car set-up. They fell back a bit afterwards.

[turbof1]

Yes, they had the splitter/plow under the low nose to start the season. They then went with a higher nose, but were limited due to their chassis height. They can max it out, and likely will with the 28.

Button and Hamilton cruised to a 1-2 in the first race. I think Button thought he had another BrawnGP car after that race. It was likely the team just nailed the tire and car set-up. They fell back a bit afterwards.

A 1-3 to be honest.

[wesley123]

Yes, they had the splitter/plow under the low nose to start the season. They then went with a higher nose, but were limited due to their chassis height. They can max it out, and likely will with the 28.

Button and Hamilton cruised to a 1-2 in the first race. I think Button thought he had another BrawnGP car after that race. It was likely the team just nailed the tire and car set-up. They fell back a bit afterwards.

A 1-3 to be honest.

a 1-3 due to misfortune, without that they were indeed cruising towards a 1-2 finish

[raymondu999]

I wouldn't call it misfortune as safety cars can happen at any time, and it just so happened that they were dealt a bad hand, by having the safety car come out as they were pitting. But yes - pacewise they were far and away the best in Australia.

[bgroovers]

I wouldn't call it misfortune as safety cars can happen at any time, and it just so happened that they were dealt a bad hand, by having the safety car come out as they were pitting. But yes - pacewise they were far and away the best in Australia.

Wed Jan 02, 2013 12:10 am
Point is - this is the MP4-27 thread. We have an MP4-28 thread for a reason.

Lets stick with MP4 28 shall we...

[turbof1]

Are we going to see more rake? If the coanda/downwash exhaust gets improved enough that might be an option.

"Earless" brake ducts also maybe?

[raymondu999]

I'm not sure on that. If you increase the rake, you'd be inviting the diffuser to stall under braking as you have the rake but not the exhaust seal when off-throttle.