McLaren MCL35 Speculation Thread

[FW17]

Also can't wait for the new team wear to drop. As we will most likely see the new color scheme.

Lot of black and red

[M840TR]

Also can't wait for the new team wear to drop. As we will most likely see the new color scheme.

Lot of black and red

That's just what the mechanics wear in MTC. Been the same since quite some time.

[90feet]

The McLaren is obviously going to be primarily orange and I'm baffled by anyone who expects otherwise. That is their color now unless a huge money title sponsor wants them to change it. Obviously each year the design is going to change, they might add some new accent colors here and there, but it's still just going to be orange.

E: For the record, here is a teaser from before the car launch last year that shows the driver numbers in blue - which was not the case on the MCL34:

Here's another one of a bunch of blue helmets with one orange on. I remember a lot of people claiming this meant the car would be primarily blue:

[f1rules]

Question: Is Peter Prodrmou still with the team? He is never in any pics,or mentioned anywhere

[martinbeiker]

Question: Is Peter Prodrmou still with the team? He is never in any pics,or mentioned anywhere

I think he is, not long ago someone posted a picture of a water bottle that had all the names of the team members, I saw Peter's name.

[f1rules]

ah yes nice, spot, his name was there ok, im more calm then thanks

[Ground Effect]

ah yes nice, spot, his name was there ok, im more calm then thanks

You’re right though, he never appears in anything promotional, interviews etc. Does he ever attend race weekends? He must be extremely camera shy.

[mclaren111]

He's still Head of Aerodynamics...

[Holm86]

Gon't get they hype around Prodromou? I guess he is decent enough, but its not like he has worked wonders at McLaren (yet)

[godlameroso]

Gon't get they hype around Prodromou? I guess he is decent enough, but its not like he has worked wonders at McLaren (yet)

In his defense, they spent their resources more on fitting the Renault power unit than they did on aero in 2018. 2019 was more normal, but still couldn't develop the aero due to being on the back foot. 2020 will be the first real litmus test for the aero team as they've had plenty of time to develop the new car based on 2019. Now they no longer need to play catch up because of power unit swaps, they no longer have to redesign their concept to better exploit the regulations. All that was done last year, so this year we get to see the true creativity of the aero department.

[PhillipM]

The McLaren is obviously going to be primarily orange and I'm baffled by anyone who expects otherwise.

This, it's orange.

[thestig84]

Yep. Matt though this year!

[_cerber1]

[Holm86]

Gon't get they hype around Prodromou? I guess he is decent enough, but its not like he has worked wonders at McLaren (yet)

In his defense, they spent their resources more on fitting the Renault power unit than they did on aero in 2018. 2019 was more normal, but still couldn't develop the aero due to being on the back foot. 2020 will be the first real litmus test for the aero team as they've had plenty of time to develop the new car based on 2019. Now they no longer need to play catch up because of power unit swaps, they no longer have to redesign their concept to better exploit the regulations. All that was done last year, so this year we get to see the true creativity of the aero department.

He has been with McLaren since 2014, I know they've had several engine troubles since departing with Mercedes, so I guess he should still have a chance. But so far his merits is only being Neweys apprentice.

[godlameroso]

Gon't get they hype around Prodromou? I guess he is decent enough, but its not like he has worked wonders at McLaren (yet)

In his defense, they spent their resources more on fitting the Renault power unit than they did on aero in 2018. 2019 was more normal, but still couldn't develop the aero due to being on the back foot. 2020 will be the first real litmus test for the aero team as they've had plenty of time to develop the new car based on 2019. Now they no longer need to play catch up because of power unit swaps, they no longer have to redesign their concept to better exploit the regulations. All that was done last year, so this year we get to see the true creativity of the aero department.

He has been with McLaren since 2014, I know they've had several engine troubles since departing with Mercedes, so I guess he should still have a chance. But so far his merits is only being Neweys apprentice.

In other words his input was reflected on the car from 2015. We can hardly make a decent comparison due to the Honda engine, in 2016 the Honda engine had too high COG which compromised the chassis. 2017 the aero and car itself was very good relative to the others, which showed there is talent in the aero department. It's a shame it took Honda so long to sort out its issues, and switching to Renault compromised both the chassis and the aero. 2019 again was a more normal year without chassis or aero compromises and they built something good. 2020 is once again a normal year, so the progress they make will tell us for sure how good the aero department is.

I hear that the car is better everywhere, but probably not enough to fight with the front runners. Ultimately that restriction is down to the power unit layout, in my opinion. Or at least the power unit layout keeps you from getting the most of the current and future regulations.

If McLaren does make the switch do they take a Mercedes transmission or keep building their own? The transmission volume itself is not regulated and can make a huge aero impact. One of the big reasons McLaren took a big step is the transmission. Not just the transmission, but the cooling and lubrication of the transmission as well, it's a big part of the development curve.

Furthermore, for 2021 it seems that transmissions have to be homologated and will be homologated for years so if you have a really good transmission(a lot of parts and dimensions are being standardized), then you can be competitive.