Vodafone McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes

[gray41]

Based on the current package which of the remaining tracks would people say suit the McLaren?

[ajdavison2]

Singapore for sure judging by their hungary package.

[gray41]

Singapore for sure judging by their hungary package.

Maybe Abu Dhabi as well?

[Nando]

SPA should be good for them. The car is terrific in the high speed stuff.

[turbof1]

SPA should be good for them. The car is terrific in the high speed stuff.

I think so too. If weather stays constant, they can make a good setup. Furthermore, the medium and hard tyres will be used, effectively cutting out the McLaren's weakness. Jenson might have problems with getting the tyres into the operating temperature, but Lewis will surely be feeling happy on them.

[ell66]

Singapore for sure judging by their hungary package.

singapore's a bad track for mclaren this year, extrememly hot and all traction.

id say mclaren should be strong at spa, monza, japan, korea and they always seem to go well in abu dhabi. India possibly and we have the new track in the US.

But it;s hard to know for sure, conditons will dictate a lot.

[Jackles-UK]

Based on the current package which of the remaining tracks would people say suit the McLaren?

100% Suzuka should be well suited. Fast and flowing with a real emphasis on high speed aero & stability, especially through sector 1. Also theres only 2 real make-or-break traction zones (exits of final turn & turn 10 I think, the hairpin after the Degners leading onto the run down to Spoon) apparently still a weak point of the car.

Having said that McLaren always seem to go fairly well around Abu Dhabi and, with the Merc engine in the back, you can never rule them out of Spa/Monza.

Korea, Singapore & India might be tricky with lots of slow corners and traction zones, India especially has 5 or 6 tight corners that lead into straights. Can't yet pass judgement on USA as I don't really know enough about it, let alone if it will be finished in time to race!

[ajdavison2]

Singapore for sure judging by their hungary package.

singapore's a bad track for mclaren this year, extrememly hot and all traction.

id say mclaren should be strong at spa, monza, japan, korea and they always seem to go well in abu dhabi. India possibly and we have the new track in the US.

But it;s hard to know for sure, conditons will dictate a lot.

But monaco, hungary, and singapore are all the highest downforce tracks, and Mclarens traction didn't look so bad at Hungary, so I'd say that they're not a bad bet for Singapore.

[raymondu999]

I think the McLaren's strengths are that it can carry good amounts of lateral load, enabling it to carry a lot of speed through. But I don't think its nose is as strong as in 2010 and 2011, where it had a very confident turn in that could get a bus through the Loews hairpin.

I don't think in short and sweet, dinky little corners which require a strong turn in it's the best. I think it abuses the rears under traction too.

[Nando]

Yea Suzuka i would say is a track absolutely made for the Mclaren this year.
It´s all about having lots of downforce but still slippery enough for the back straight and main straight.

[simieski]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but during one the the Hungary practice sessions I think it was mentioned that Macca was running a considerably softer rear end. If they continue with this one would assume it will improve traction and rear tyre deg? At the trade off of something else to a certain extent I guess.

[beelsebob]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but during one the the Hungary practice sessions I think it was mentioned that Macca was running a considerably softer rear end. If they continue with this one would assume it will improve traction and rear tyre deg? At the trade off of something else to a certain extent I guess.

McLaren have run the philosophy of a very soft rear end and a very hard front end for several years now.

[simieski]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but during one the the Hungary practice sessions I think it was mentioned that Macca was running a considerably softer rear end. If they continue with this one would assume it will improve traction and rear tyre deg? At the trade off of something else to a certain extent I guess.

McLaren have run the philosophy of a very soft rear end and a very hard front end for several years now.

Was aware of the ridiculously hard front end, the soft rear was presented as something different by commentators on one of the practice sessions, perhaps they just meant softer than usual.

[MikeFromCanada]

Was aware of the ridiculously hard front end, the soft rear was presented as something different by commentators on one of the practice sessions, perhaps they just meant softer than usual.

It did appear to be softer than usual, as I saw a few pictures lingering around where the car was coming out fo a corner (assuming under acceleration) and the front wing was visibily higher than it normally would be.

A softer rear end would help in tyre degradation if the car naturally likes to slide around at the back. However as always there is a limit to how soft you can go on the rear springs, causing too much body roll.

[beelsebob]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but during one the the Hungary practice sessions I think it was mentioned that Macca was running a considerably softer rear end. If they continue with this one would assume it will improve traction and rear tyre deg? At the trade off of something else to a certain extent I guess.

McLaren have run the philosophy of a very soft rear end and a very hard front end for several years now.

Was aware of the ridiculously hard front end, the soft rear was presented as something different by commentators on one of the practice sessions, perhaps they just meant softer than usual.

The idea of the hard front end is exactly to allow the soft rear end. The soft rear is desirable because it gives you traction out of corners and rear tyre life. The hard front stops the car from rolling.