Mclaren MP4-30 Honda

[GoranF1]

https://twitter.com/HondaRacingF1/statu ... 8861430784

[CjC]

Hmmm I wonder what's connected to the exhaust.....

[AnthonyG]

I assume the engine

[GoranF1]

DPF filter?

[mclaren111]

It seems the Italian press that said last year the Honda PU was Overweight, Down on Power and Inefficient were spot on.

Let's hope they can catch up a bit more over the summer break. [-o< [-o< [-o<

[JimClarkFan]

Benson said this today on the BBC:

''McLaren have a major upgrade to the car for the next race in Austria, and another for the subsequent British Grand Prix. If they deliver what the team believe they will, the car could be as good as a Mercedes.''

Does anyone think that this is likely. Obviously we don't know what the Mclaren insiders know, but one has to wonder whether or not this is believable given prior form.

[damager21]

Benson said this today on the BBC:

''McLaren have a major upgrade to the car for the next race in Austria, and another for the subsequent British Grand Prix. If they deliver what the team believe they will, the car could be as good as a Mercedes.''

Does anyone think that this is likely. Obviously we don't know what the Mclaren insiders know, but one has to wonder whether or not this is believable given prior form.

This is nothing but crap or part of McLaren's PR exercise. They are 2 secs down on Mercedes. There is No possibility of Honda utilizing more tokens and introducing new engine in the next 2 race. The earliest I expect an engine upgrade from them is at Spa or Monza.

Given this, it is impossible for McLaren to make up 2 secs just on aero upgrades. They could look at bridging the gap by 0.5 sec not 2 sec for sure.

Following clearly reflects how badly McLaren Honda need a power upgrade

[bhall II]

Benson said this today on the BBC:

''McLaren have a major upgrade to the car for the next race in Austria, and another for the subsequent British Grand Prix. If they deliver what the team believe they will, the car could be as good as a Mercedes.''

Does anyone think that this is likely.

[wickedz50]

Benson said this today on the BBC:

''McLaren have a major upgrade to the car for the next race in Austria, and another for the subsequent British Grand Prix. If they deliver what the team believe they will, the car could be as good as a Mercedes.''

Does anyone think that this is likely. Obviously we don't know what the Mclaren insiders know, but one has to wonder whether or not this is believable given prior form.

[GoranF1]

The whole BBC article;

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/33043900


i noticed they mention MP4-30 is 20 km/h down on straights on Merc and Alonso even said in after race statements they were 35km/h down on Ferrari in the straights...that surley is a big chunk of a second if you drive for 500-600 meters on Canada straights for about 20-30 down on top speed,and that does give a point a bit to Benson's claims,and Alonso did kept Vettel at bay in corners whitout to much problem!?

[FoxHound]

Benson said this today on the BBC:

''McLaren have a major upgrade to the car for the next race in Austria, and another for the subsequent British Grand Prix. If they deliver what the team believe they will, the car could be as good as a Mercedes.''

Does anyone think that this is likely. Obviously we don't know what the Mclaren insiders know, but one has to wonder whether or not this is believable given prior form.

Benson is bewildering me...Is he a PR mouthpiece for McLaren?
I've asked him again today on twitter regarding his assessment that the McLaren chassis is as good as Ferrari's and to his credit/discredit he replied.

"because when you apply the cost of the power loss to the lap time, that's what comes out"

I think "what comes out" of Benson to be [censored] in this matter. There is no tangible way to calculate how good or bad that McLaren chassis is until it has the power to be able to compete.
A good or bad chassis will never show it's inherent flaws or advantages until it is pushed long and hard. And these 2 things have been very short for the McLaren MP4-30 this year.

Now I read that McLaren think they will be "as good as Mercedes" with the next 2 updates?
There must be a quality control mechanism at the BBC that deciphers actual news from that of the PR news we seem to be getting alot of, particularly in regards to McLaren from Mr Benson.

That chassis is NOT as good as Ferrari's and I really don't care what Benson thinks or is trying to get across.
Until the actual moment McLaren can prove it, best for them to remain coy on the newsfront and Benson to refrain from writing such pie in the sky rubbish. As for the updates that will bring them on par with Mercedes....well I think Benson ought to know better writing that and McLaren should know better than saying that. It is....amateurish.

Alonso may not be so far off the mark, sadly...

[JoeE]

Benson talking rubbish again

[GoranF1]

Benson is right....Honda will wake up soon,chassis is very good and Mclaren will win title before Ferrari does!

[Miguel]

I also read Benson's piece on the BBC, and I share the general feeling with Foxhound. Matching Mercedes? By Austria? That's nothing more than wishful thinking. It seems however that Canada has been the worst place for McLaren so far: it strongly depends on power, drivavility is very important and fuel is marginal. By chance, this was the first race where I used live timing. It was sad to see McLaren be regularly 2s/lap slower.

Wondering how much they're lagging on power, I did a quick and dirty calculation. Keeping everything else the same, if McLaren hits 320 km/h with 700 BHP, then upgrading the engine to 800 BHP will give it 334 km/h on a long enough straight. That speed differential accounts for about 0.25s on a 500 m stretch, a guesstimate on how long they run close to top speed in Canada before the chicane. I can see that deficit, coupled with drivability, accounting for somewhat over 1s of laptime. However, can they still be over 100 BHP down on essentially everybody else? Even Renault?

I used to thing the chassis was really good, and that the engine was letting them down too. However, after seeing their performance on the quick sectors in Barcelona and their not so great run in Monaco (even if they scored!), I'm not so sure.

EDIT: Why is Alonso's speed over the finish line almost competitive? It's better than Sainz, and Sainz finished the race and had DRS at times as well. Button's speed on S2 is also somewhat surprising, considering their S1 disaster.

PS: Any apex speed comparisons out there? Is McLaren's "cornering" still comparable to the top teams according to the F1 app?

[shady07]

Didn't Honda had a chance to study Mercedes PU in details? To get some kowledge about materials used, so sealing wouldn't fail, exhaust wouldn't overheat...