McLaren MP4-26 Mercedes

[MikeFromCanada]

To be fair – it would be hard for them to be worse on a now dry track.

Not to mention a grippier, rubbered in track as well. The car did however seem visually to have a lot of grip through the corners. I heard somewhere they had floor updates to test, probably realted to the exhaust testing they supposedly were doing?

[michl420]

McLaren bring now more cooling air to the center opening and less to the sidepod opening. I also think Button tested a rear wing without DRS in the first session.

[Marco Alves]

[Owen.C93]

That first image is interesting because the "big flap wing" is missing the DRS strut that it normally has. New rear brake ducts and I think sidepod body work as well. But maybe this image is just flattering to the shrink wrap of the sidepod.

[beelsebob]

They also seem to be changing their cooling exit from a tall narrow strip to the same bulbous exit just above the beam wing that RBR/Ferrari have been using.

[Owen.C93]

They also seem to be changing their cooling exit from a tall narrow strip to the same bulbous exit just above the beam wing that RBR/Ferrari have been using.

Pretty much identical to what the MP4-25 ran last year.

[Rikhart]

That first image is interesting because the "big flap wing" is missing the DRS strut that it normally has. New rear brake ducts and I think sidepod body work as well. But maybe this image is just flattering to the shrink wrap of the sidepod.

Huge rake...

[PlatinumZealot]

Curved end-plate fins were always there?

[wesley123]

those were introduced last race

[Poleman]

Slightly off topic but in contradiction to what many believed back in the launch i now think that the car looks actually smexy and aggresive.Beautiful piece of machinery... =D>

[raymondu999]

Slightly off topic but in contradiction to what many believed back in the launch i now think that the car looks actually smexy and aggresive.Beautiful piece of machinery... =D>

I still prefer the -25's side pods. After they moved the exhausts off the side pods and onto the floor, that is

[SiLo]

Car looks in good shape for the race tomorrow, hoping they can have a good quali as well. Got any pics of the updates sidepods inlets?

[Muulka]

Slightly off topic but in contradiction to what many believed back in the launch i now think that the car looks actually smexy and aggresive.Beautiful piece of machinery... =D>

I still prefer the -25's side pods. After they moved the exhausts off the side pods and onto the floor, that is

You see, when I see the -25 now it seems crude, old-fashioned. It's amazing how much the cars have progressed since the start of last year visually (and performance-wise). Just look at the front wings then and Mclaren's current one!

Does anyone here think that other teams will adopt the U-pods for next year? Certainly seems to be better than the so-called double floor.

But the -26 does seem to run with an awful lot of undercut in the sidepods, or is that just me? It looks like there's a massive gap between the sidepods and the floor, actually akin to TR's gap, but not quite as pronounced.

That was a bit of a random post, but oh well. I'll try to be more coherant from now on!

[marcush.]

I´d think the -26 has opened up the minds of the aero and mechanical engineers and we might see some new ideas in terms of sidepod layout..

[Phillyred]

It will be interesting to see if they carry over this radical chassis design to the mp4-27.