McLaren MCL36

[SmallSoldier]

From the race article… The vortices on the MCL36 do look stronger and pretty defined vs Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull:

[jumpingfish]

Сould it be due to the different amount of water on the track? Not all cars drove at the same time, and the track dried quickly

[SmallSoldier]

Сould it be due to the different amount of water on the track? Not all cars drove at the same time, and the track dried quickly

The Ferrari and Mclaren pictures were taken when they were on full wets, while the Mercedes and RBR were in Intermediates… Not sure how much the amount of water would change the patterns though

[Just_a_fan]

From the race article… The vortices on the MCL36 do look stronger and pretty defined vs Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull:

https://i.imgur.com/fvmIpUH.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cOYTT37.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/a2TVTDq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uVy4xgD.jpg

It's worth noting that the top two cars are on wets, the bottom two on inters. So much less water around and thus much less spray. Ergo, less definition behind the front wheels.

Edit: looks like we posted at about the same time.

[Marc.W]

Definitely interesting to see, but wasn't Daniel the first driver out on the wets? so probably a whole shovel of salt required here

[the EDGE]

Would be interesting to see originals, I’m sure I’ve seen the McLaren & Ferrari ones some in F1t forum pages, not so sure about Merc & RB

[ema00]

it also depends on the speed of the car, more speed equals stronger vortex

[DiogoBrand]

This car is faster because it throws water around in a prettier way... said no one ever.

I don't think there's any conclusions to be drawn from this.

[ema00]

This car is faster because it throws water around in a prettier way... said no one ever.

I don't think there's any conclusions to be drawn from this.

I was just saying that if the mclaren was at 300 kph and the other at 200 kph it's normal that the mclaren has a stronger vortex, so these pictures can't be used for a comparison

[JPBD1990]

From the race article… The vortices on the MCL36 do look stronger and pretty defined vs Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull:

https://i.imgur.com/fvmIpUH.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cOYTT37.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/a2TVTDq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uVy4xgD.jpg

I believe the Ferrari is turning in that pic. Appreciating this is not the Ferrari thread, but the spray is roughly equivalent for all cars. I think people have started to read too much into the spray patterns.

The only really valuable insight this can provide is where the pickup ends up on the chassis as it basically ends up like flow vis (refer to Turkey 2020 pics), or when there is high humidity and observing the actual air vortices as opposed to water spray. I think people have now started to conflate the two. I can’t remember who said it (possibly Kyle.engineers or Scarbs) but they basically said that water is too heavy to give a clear indication. What we’re seeing in pics like this is just the literal spray off the tyre.

Anywho, here’s a comparable shot of the Ferrari for reference. V similar.

[PhillipM]

Do you have any "internal" information regarding this problem? Are the rumors about a possibly illegal floor real?

only thing I heard is the 'race' spec floor is different, but going by what they said before, it could just be a lighter version with less bolt on test bits.
I haven't talked to anyone much really the past weeks, someone else might have more details on that.

[PhillipM]

There's no diffuser fences this year. For any team.....

No strakes, there's still an end fence on either side...

[Motörhead]

There's no diffuser fences this year. For any team.....

No strakes, there's still an end fence on either side...

I think we are talking about the outer diffuser wall there?

[mclaren111]

Nice angle on FW...

[Emag]

It is confirmed that this car will have upgrades for the first race, but just by looking at it, I am struggling to find areas that will be affected.

The floor brought to testing was quite developed. The front wing seems like a late development iteration. Sidepods seem unlikely to change drastically, and there is not much room allowed by the regulation for many external bodywork pieces.

The only things that looks somewhat basic, at least compared to some other cars, are the bib and the "bargeboard" on the side of the tunnel entrance.

Perhaps most upgrades will be invisible to us. Like a new underfloor shape, or some mechanical enhancement.

Either way, I am really getting excited for this season. Initial impressions have been very good for this car. Nothing that would make me think it is going to be a championship contender, but I am certainly hoping it will fight for the top spot more often than last year.