McLaren MP4-29 Mercedes

[henra]

I can't help but wonder if they had designed the car with the new nose originally if they would have designed the front of the crash structure higher to have a smooth transition between nose and crash structure.

Even though I strongly tend to agree, I have to admit that the rear of the car strikes me much more in its business and bulkiness. The Butterfly only seems to make this bulkiness worse.
It might be worth look into shrinking the sidepods in length (higher and shorter with good Coke Bottle seems the better packaging Option since there is no Beam Wing to suffer from high sidepods and the Butterflys don't seem to cut it), and getting rid of the Butterflys and try to go the Merc/RB way. This low sidepod is also an indication they fully relied on the Butterfly solution. Unfortunately it seems that didn't pay off. The big (!) question mark is if there is potential to be discovered in that alley they pursued. Looking at their current Performance I have some doubts.

The front of the car might be a tiny bit sub- Optimum but I seriously doubt it is the real cause of the trouble. At least Nose 2.0 should squeeze plenty of air to the T-Tray/sidepod area.

[outer_bongolia]

Even though I strongly tend to agree, I have to admit that the rear of the car strikes me much more in its business and bulkiness. The Butterfly only seems to make this bulkiness worse.

Strongly agreed.

...This low sidepod is also an indication they fully relied on the Butterfly solution. Unfortunately it seems that didn't pay off. The big (!) question mark is if there is potential to be discovered in that alley they pursued. Looking at their current Performance I have some doubts.

I think they will not be able to change the sidepod without having to redesign pretty much all of the car.

Let's say the butterfly will be useful in high downforce races (Monaco) and no butterfly will let them score a few points in low downforce races (Monza). Would the case of only bottom wings be good enough to push them to redesign at least backside of the car for average downforce tracks?

[Thunder]

Very Interesting Article about the Mercedes Engine Installation and Updates for China.Don't know if it's right in this Thread but it's about the Engine, Exhaust and Sidepods so it should be ok.

http://f1elvis.com/2014/04/15/customer-service/

[Holm86]

Very Interesting Article about the Mercedes Engine Installation and Updates for China.Don't know if it's right in this Thread but it's about the Engine, Exhaust and Sidepods so it should be ok.

http://f1elvis.com/2014/04/15/customer-service/

Good link Thunders. Interesting to see if they really have such a big update comming this weekend.

[gray41]

Might bring the car back into podium contention.

[Alexgtt]

Very Interesting Article about the Mercedes Engine Installation and Updates for China.Don't know if it's right in this Thread but it's about the Engine, Exhaust and Sidepods so it should be ok.

http://f1elvis.com/2014/04/15/customer-service/

Great article and very well written explanation of the advantage Merc hold. Of course this will be the case all through the season with various PU up-dates. I thought maps and electronic controls were also frozen but I guess I was wrong.

So, are Honda "all over" the Merc PU back at MTC or do Merc have some sort of control over access?

[akshat21]

I am sure merc have some control over it. They keep IP files on their servers and give McL read only access.

Although they can do very little with the information McL already has from Engine Maps, Dimensions, SECU telemetry and all.

They can give Honda specific parameters for the engine under given conditions and loads. Honda can then work their way backwards and update their PU accordingly.

[Alexgtt]

I am sure merc have some control over it. They keep IP files on their servers and give McL read only access.

Although they can do very little with the information McL already has from Engine Maps, Dimensions, SECU telemetry and all.

They can give Honda specific parameters for the engine under given conditions and loads. Honda can then work their way backwards and update their PU accordingly.

Indeed. I really expect Honda to be right up there next season. They have a terrific advantage sitting back this first year and for McLaren, to have the Manufacturer Works position again. I hate to admit it but technically McLaren are done for this year. It's now just gaining knowledge for next year.

I do hate that F1 has got to the stage where whole years and longer are virtually written off.

[mclaren_mircea]

What do you think about Eric Boullier's statement about updates for China: "We’ll have another little step for China, and will hopefully be bringing more key updates to every race."?

Can we expect another set of aero tweaks to the car like Malaysia and Bahrain, or what can mean this "little step"?

[Shakeman]

What do you think about Eric Boullier's statement about updates for China: "We’ll have another little step for China, and will hopefully be bringing more key updates to every race."?

Can we expect another set of aero tweaks to the car like Malaysia and Bahrain, or what can mean this "little step"?

F1Elvis said they have reworked the bodywork of the car as Merc had supplied smaller exhausts.

[mclaren_mircea]

What do you think about Eric Boullier's statement about updates for China: "We’ll have another little step for China, and will hopefully be bringing more key updates to every race."?

Can we expect another set of aero tweaks to the car like Malaysia and Bahrain, or what can mean this "little step"?

F1Elvis said they have reworked the bodywork of the car as Merc had supplied smaller exhausts.

There is no other source claiming something like that and I don't know from where he got that type of information. Such a big upgrade package may be realistic only for May when the F1 returns to Europe. Spain is the place where most of the teams will bring big updates. It cannot be possible such a big change and makes no sens that a "little step" can mean such a big upgrade like F1Elvis said.

[mclaren_mircea]

Very Interesting Article about the Mercedes Engine Installation and Updates for China.Don't know if it's right in this Thread but it's about the Engine, Exhaust and Sidepods so it should be ok.

http://f1elvis.com/2014/04/15/customer-service/

They cannot have such a big update for China.
Two weeks ago Boullier said that they will have key updates for Bahrain and Spain, nothing about China. In the preview about China's race, Eric said that for Shanghai they will have only a "little step".

[CjC]

Marc Priestley is an ex mclaren mechanic, he too will have friends and colleagues who still work for mclaren, I'd say he is a reliable source.

[mclaren_mircea]

Marc Priestley is an ex mclaren mechanic, he too will have friends and colleagues who still work for mclaren, I'd say he is a reliable source.

I hope you have a golden mouth and you are right
I really want to see Mclaren closing the gap [-o<

[Pierce89]

Very Interesting Article about the Mercedes Engine Installation and Updates for China.Don't know if it's right in this Thread but it's about the Engine, Exhaust and Sidepods so it should be ok.

http://f1elvis.com/2014/04/15/customer-service/

They cannot have such a big update for China.
Two weeks ago Boullier said that they will have key updates for Bahrain and Spain, nothing about China. In the preview about China's race, Eric said that for Shanghai they will have only a "little step".

The article didn't say there was a big update for China. It only said China was the soonest they could possibly make the packaging gains from the exhaust, because they didn't know beforehand a much smaller exhaust was being built.

Edit: I read again and he definitively said they'll have a big update so ignore what I wrote above.