McLaren MCL36 Speculation Thread

[BOEING>AIRBUS]

Yeah... Piers Thynne, who is the operations director of the team, seems to have verbally confirmed it. Check the McLaren app.

[taperoo2k]

AMuS is claiming Mclaren might show up in Barcelona with a basic spec as opposed to the fully realized 2022 car. Interesting approach if true.

Source: https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/for ... udget-cap/

Seems that they wanted to make an article on the 2 potential approaches (Basic car in Barcelona and Developed car in Bahrain or Developed Car in Barcelona) and simply used McLaren as an example of it…

Whether they can bring a basic car and then a developed one is a matter of cost… I understand the reluctancy of Teams to bring their cars to Barcelona and let the other Teams copy their solutions, but correlation tests in Barcelona could be crucial… If a team gets 3 complete days of testing on their “close to racing spec” car it could also be a major advantage going into the season.

I would be amazed if any of the top teams (the ones that are limited by the budget cap) bring anything other than either a ‘vanilla’ aero spec or very heavily camouflaged aero to the first test. I wouldn’t plan on it, I would tend to use it to put miles into the engine/drivetrain & test things that cannot be accurately done on the sim.

We are hearing stories about the pace that some teams are seeing on the sim (I hope for their sakes that they haven’t got correlation issues…), if they are confident in their sim/track correlation why show your hand early?

First thing all the teams will need to do is correlate on track data with the data back at the factory, so yes I expect we'll see vanilla aero packages early on. Secondly if there is a problem with the data, then those teams will be scrambling to fix the issue, which means they may have to test parts sooner than they'd like. Thirdly the drivers will need time getting to grips with how the cars behave before they can push the cars hard to test the reliability of the PU and other critical components (if there is a problem with the PU on top of aero issues, a team would be in serious trouble). Some drivers will probably be right on it with the new cars, while others may struggle. The teams have a lot to juggle this time around. Either we will see tweaked race packages that are not too different from what appears in testing or there will be race packages that are radically different.

McLaren seem to be quite calm ahead of pre season testing. Not really saying much where they think they will be in the pecking order.

[JPower]

McLaren seem to be quite calm ahead of pre season testing. Not really saying much where they think they will be in the pecking order.

The only thing I've read on that front is that Zak doesn't think they're ready for a championship run just yet.

[mwillems]

The team will hit the track before the test almost certainly using a filming day from as soon after as they have a car ready to show usable data, I'd imagine. And from that moment on their development race begins as they correlate the on track data with the sim. From that point they can assess the design and make changes where necessary. The first race is mid march so in theory there is a chance to see some of the correlation related design fixes/updates start to come through then, but realistically they won't occur until later as that is a very short timescale, but who knows how the team is set up this year, as more than any year there is going to be an urgency to deliver updates.

I would ordinarily expect to see something very generic at the reveal, probably some very early iteration that went to the wind tunnel.

Regarding times compared to last years cars... I know we have heard little about Mclaren but I am expecting to see some very nice packaging for the cooling, something that was not explored last year due to the restrictions. This in itself is worth a fair bit, as IIRC when Force India/AM introduced their sidepod changes in mid 20 they gained an awful lot of tenths.

I know some blurry pictures have been posted suggesting a new cooling layout but I couldn't make much from it, but it did seem to suggest the cooling was pushed forwards and perhaps we might expect to see that sharp ramp down as per Merc and AM with they fit the body around it.

However, I think that aside from any "creative" work around the regs, the underfloor solutions will be where the cars make the difference, that and maxed airflow to the rear of the car to exert more pressure to suck the air from the diffuser.

[SmallSoldier]

The team will hit the track before the test almost certainly using a filming day from as soon after as they have a car ready to show usable data, I'd imagine. And from that moment on their development race begins as they correlate the on track data with the sim. From that point they can assess the design and make changes where necessary. The first race is mid march so in theory there is a chance to see some of the correlation related design fixes/updates start to come through then, but realistically they won't occur until later as that is a very short timescale, but who knows how the team is set up this year, as more than any year there is going to be an urgency to deliver updates.

I would ordinarily expect to see something very generic at the reveal, probably some very early iteration that went to the wind tunnel.

Regarding times compared to last years cars... I know we have heard little about Mclaren but I am expecting to see some very nice packaging for the cooling, something that was not explored last year due to the restrictions. This in itself is worth a fair bit, as IIRC when Force India/AM introduced their sidepod changes in mid 20 they gained an awful lot of tenths.

I know some blurry pictures have been posted suggesting a new cooling layout but I couldn't make much from it, but it did seem to suggest the cooling was pushed forwards and perhaps we might expect to see that sharp ramp down as per Merc and AM with they fit the body around it.

However, I think that aside from any "creative" work around the regs, the underfloor solutions will be where the cars make the difference, that and maxed airflow to the rear of the car to exert more pressure to suck the air from the diffuser.

If there are any correlations issues found in the first test, I don’t think there would be a chance to fix those before the 1st race between analysis, design, testing and manufacturing time.

The Team is getting ready for a development race, Thynne mentioned that they are making less parts of each iteration, not only to allow additional manufacturing time, but more importantly budget dollars to fit evolutions of parts.

I have a feeling that the team is ahead of their target dates for parts delivery, considering the interruptions due to covid, global supply chain challenges and potential business disruptions if any lockdowns or similar measures are set in place, they had to build a buffer to cover those… Since things have been smoother than the worst scenarios predicted, there has to be some time gained in there.

[mwillems]

The team will hit the track before the test almost certainly using a filming day from as soon after as they have a car ready to show usable data, I'd imagine. And from that moment on their development race begins as they correlate the on track data with the sim. From that point they can assess the design and make changes where necessary. The first race is mid march so in theory there is a chance to see some of the correlation related design fixes/updates start to come through then, but realistically they won't occur until later as that is a very short timescale, but who knows how the team is set up this year, as more than any year there is going to be an urgency to deliver updates.

I would ordinarily expect to see something very generic at the reveal, probably some very early iteration that went to the wind tunnel.

Regarding times compared to last years cars... I know we have heard little about Mclaren but I am expecting to see some very nice packaging for the cooling, something that was not explored last year due to the restrictions. This in itself is worth a fair bit, as IIRC when Force India/AM introduced their sidepod changes in mid 20 they gained an awful lot of tenths.

I know some blurry pictures have been posted suggesting a new cooling layout but I couldn't make much from it, but it did seem to suggest the cooling was pushed forwards and perhaps we might expect to see that sharp ramp down as per Merc and AM with they fit the body around it.

However, I think that aside from any "creative" work around the regs, the underfloor solutions will be where the cars make the difference, that and maxed airflow to the rear of the car to exert more pressure to suck the air from the diffuser.

If there are any correlations issues found in the first test, I don’t think there would be a chance to fix those before the 1st race between analysis, design, testing and manufacturing time.

The Team is getting ready for a development race, Thynne mentioned that they are making less parts of each iteration, not only to allow additional manufacturing time, but more importantly budget dollars to fit evolutions of parts.

I have a feeling that the team is ahead of their target dates for parts delivery, considering the interruptions due to covid, global supply chain challenges and potential business disruptions if any lockdowns or similar measures are set in place, they had to build a buffer to cover those… Since things have been smoother than the worst scenarios predicted, there has to be some time gained in there.

After the first test there is definately not enough time, but after a strategically planned filming day there is the slim possibility to get something produced. Going with that point that you also recognised, they seem ahead in the build and I wonder if the plan is to get some on track experience as early as possible, as that would be invaluable.

[the EDGE]

The team will hit the track before the test almost certainly using a filming day from as soon after as they have a car ready to show usable data, I'd imagine. And from that moment on their development race begins as they correlate the on track data with the sim. From that point they can assess the design and make changes where necessary. The first race is mid march so in theory there is a chance to see some of the correlation related design fixes/updates start to come through then, but realistically they won't occur until later as that is a very short timescale, but who knows how the team is set up this year, as more than any year there is going to be an urgency to deliver updates.

I would ordinarily expect to see something very generic at the reveal, probably some very early iteration that went to the wind tunnel.

Regarding times compared to last years cars... I know we have heard little about Mclaren but I am expecting to see some very nice packaging for the cooling, something that was not explored last year due to the restrictions. This in itself is worth a fair bit, as IIRC when Force India/AM introduced their sidepod changes in mid 20 they gained an awful lot of tenths.

I know some blurry pictures have been posted suggesting a new cooling layout but I couldn't make much from it, but it did seem to suggest the cooling was pushed forwards and perhaps we might expect to see that sharp ramp down as per Merc and AM with they fit the body around it.

However, I think that aside from any "creative" work around the regs, the underfloor solutions will be where the cars make the difference, that and maxed airflow to the rear of the car to exert more pressure to suck the air from the diffuser.

If there are any correlations issues found in the first test, I don’t think there would be a chance to fix those before the 1st race between analysis, design, testing and manufacturing time.

The Team is getting ready for a development race, Thynne mentioned that they are making less parts of each iteration, not only to allow additional manufacturing time, but more importantly budget dollars to fit evolutions of parts.

I have a feeling that the team is ahead of their target dates for parts delivery, considering the interruptions due to covid, global supply chain challenges and potential business disruptions if any lockdowns or similar measures are set in place, they had to build a buffer to cover those… Since things have been smoother than the worst scenarios predicted, there has to be some time gained in there.

After the first test there is definately not enough time, but after a strategically planned filming day there is the slim possibility to get something produced. Going with that point that you also recognised, they seem ahead in the build and I wonder if the plan is to get some on track experience as early as possible, as that would be invaluable.

I think that’s why their launch is so early, time to squeeze in 2 separated filming days

They went filming the day after launch last year, I expect that could be the same again this year

[mwillems]

It seems McLaren will be bringing an upgrade package to the first race of the season. This isn't surprising of course, but nice regardless. It's always good to have such things confirmed.

Have they confirmed anything?

I'm talking generically. Every team will bring upgrades if they can......

It was confirmed. Less spares will also be produced in order to drive an aggressive development path.

A Crash free season as possible will keep budget for development and keep manufacturing capacity for upgrades

[Motörhead]

It seems McLaren will be bringing an upgrade package to the first race of the season. This isn't surprising of course, but nice regardless. It's always good to have such things confirmed.

Have they confirmed anything?

I'm talking generically. Every team will bring upgrades if they can......

It was confirmed. Less spares will also be produced in order to drive an aggressive development path.

A Crash free season as possible will keep budget for development and keep manufacturing capacity for upgrades

I'm thinking that this year there's going to be a lot of damage to floors. Those that can keep the car away from the curbs will ultimately gain time. With these ground effect cars it pays to run as close to the road surface as possible. Any high curb will decimate the floor and consequently, lap-time.
The carbon guys in the pit lane are going to have a busy season!

[PhillipM]

It was confirmed. Less spares will also be produced in order to drive an aggressive development path.

A Crash free season as possible will keep budget for development and keep manufacturing capacity for upgrades

They're building less spares as the first chassis are overweight - they've deliberately made a lot of the area's they think there'll be heavy development modular so they bolt/bond on.
I guess once they're sure they haven't missed anything major and they're happy with the direction there'll be a pair of new chassis with things more set in stone and lighter.

[_cerber1]

They're building less spares as the first chassis are overweight - they've deliberately made a lot of the area's they think there'll be heavy development modular so they bolt/bond on.
I guess once they're sure they haven't missed anything major and they're happy with the direction there'll be a pair of new chassis with things more set in stone and lighter.

Do you mean that there will be many interchangeable parts in the tests, so that the team will be able to test the correlation of the data as much as possible?

[PhillipM]

I think it'll be longer than the tests from what was said, first couple of races at least probably.

I guess the reasoning is that with a new formula it's worth the tradeoff of loosing a touch of performance at the start of a season

[Pirro]

it looks like McL chose the philosophy that "requires more careful work in the wind tunnel but should provide more development opportunities". I hope it gonna be alright this year




https://it.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-mo ... e/7831710/

[mwillems]

It was confirmed. Less spares will also be produced in order to drive an aggressive development path.

A Crash free season as possible will keep budget for development and keep manufacturing capacity for upgrades

They're building less spares as the first chassis are overweight - they've deliberately made a lot of the area's they think there'll be heavy development modular so they bolt/bond on.
I guess once they're sure they haven't missed anything major and they're happy with the direction there'll be a pair of new chassis with things more set in stone and lighter.

That's interesting. I read that the car would be overweight for that reason, but that the spares situation was directly related to cost and production capacity for upgrades.


"The other lever we can pull is making production as lean is it can be. We’re manufacturing fewer [spare] parts. That, again, is a cultural shift, but it will allow greater flexibility to consider upgrades. It’s a difficult trade to make but we will have smaller quantities of parts available for the ’36 than we had for the ’35M, to have room in the budget to deliver more performance.

We’re not going to ever have too few parts to run the cars, we’ll always protect that, but where in the past we would have made five or six parts, we’re dropping to five; where it was four or five, we’re dropping to four. Where there are multiple set-up options of a part to fit, we’re considering rationing how those choices are made, collaborating with the race engineers to make sure we’re providing the choices they will want to use, rather than the choices they might want to use – because every pound counts and we’ve got to make sure we’re spending wisely."

[PhillipM]

Similar thing I guess, no point making too many spares or spare chassis if you're expecting to make new ones in a couple races.

edit: I'll just leave this quote here too "We've made so many rear brake ducts to test I can't remember which version is which any more"