2022 - McLaren Formula 1 Team

[PhillipM]

You also wouldn't put a riskier map on an old engine that's probably already getting turned down slightly from max.

[diffuser]

According to Toto Wolff, the second version of the engines took a step forward in terms of power and at least in Barcelona, Mercedes with new power plants were in the top in terms of maximum speed. Obviously, it is time for RIC to change his motor to a new one, because, it already has 7 races, Lando has a second engine and it’s more difficult for him, McLaren will probably pull with his replacement. The question of the drag of the MCL36 remains open.

I wouldn't beleive any of that. The PU specs are locked, with the exception to the MGU-H and MGU-K that Freeze in September, those 2 devices can't give you MORE power, they can just give you more efficiency.

They can change the software and turn up the wick but they could have done that to the old PUs too. Then again, what he maybe saying is that with a new PU they can get a 100% of the available power from it, while a PU with 5 races on it, they can only get to 95% of the original power. 5% drop is like 50 HP or more.

They will give you maximum power for longer and if there are efficiency gains on the MGU-K then slightly power total power to the wheels (the 120kw is and input power limit ergo if the MGU-K is more efficient then more of that power makes it to the wheels).

Either way the same max power for longer periods means that you are potentially keeping the speed up for longer on a straight or you can use deployment more aggressively. As far as lap time goes it is analogous to having more power.

Right, lets be serious, after 8 years with the same formula, how much more efficient can they make that MGU-K ? 5 HP would be alot IMHO ? 5 HP at 320KPH would translate into KPH measured with a decimal place. Let's face it, the update they brought to Barca is far more likely to have helped that top speed. Would have been nice to see the Top speed without the updates.

[McFAN]

Brand new F1 columnist for The Telegraph Lando Norris

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-1/2 ... ll-monaco/

[runningmanz]

Can't help thinking how different it would look if Dan got those two last runs in at imola and Miami and also didn't rub tyres with Carlos at Imola losing the bulk of his points difference to Lando. He's generally been on lando's pace on race day at Bahrain , Saudi and Australia. Spain the team said he had a car issue, Seidl mentioned that he couldn't push the car, his pace was nowhere near normal like previous races being seconds off at times. He was arguably faster in those two quallis I mentioned too.

Even with the bad qualli at Monaco which was a bit baffling he still could have made up places at other tracks but you know you can't pass at Monaco. Just a snowballing effect of various things not just Dan unperforming imo. He clearly has the ability. I refuse to believe believe just months after a cracking year in Renault at 2020 he suddenly lost his skill. Points to his driving style and the cars lack of grip and understeer I believe which is counterintuitive for him. Lando has learnt over a few years to master this in his driving style breaking later and rotating the car quicker. The McLaren was and still is now to an extent when lacking grip a twitchy and unpredictable car. Obviously they are trying to improve this issue on the car, Key mentioned it recently. Hopefully he can have some good races in the next few and turn it around. Problem adapting maybe yes but you could liken it to learning a new instrument as Stella put it last year. Despite all the noise at the moment he has actually improved if you look at the season as a whole not just the last race.

Not so sure they want to throw in the towel at this point given all the effort they've gone into designing this new car with Dan's input. It's not like it's a world championship challenging car either *yet* or what Dan asked for either when he signed up.

Good article about Dan's driving style and how it relates with his difficulties at times (seemingly mostly at low grip situations) with the McLaren car.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport ... ee7f680593

[trinidefender]

I wouldn't beleive any of that. The PU specs are locked, with the exception to the MGU-H and MGU-K that Freeze in September, those 2 devices can't give you MORE power, they can just give you more efficiency.

They can change the software and turn up the wick but they could have done that to the old PUs too. Then again, what he maybe saying is that with a new PU they can get a 100% of the available power from it, while a PU with 5 races on it, they can only get to 95% of the original power. 5% drop is like 50 HP or more.

They will give you maximum power for longer and if there are efficiency gains on the MGU-K then slightly power total power to the wheels (the 120kw is and input power limit ergo if the MGU-K is more efficient then more of that power makes it to the wheels).

Either way the same max power for longer periods means that you are potentially keeping the speed up for longer on a straight or you can use deployment more aggressively. As far as lap time goes it is analogous to having more power.

Right, lets be serious, after 8 years with the same formula, how much more efficient can they make that MGU-K ? 5 HP would be alot IMHO ? 5 HP at 320KPH would translate into KPH measured with a decimal place. Let's face it, the update they brought to Barca is far more likely to have helped that top speed. Would have been nice to see the Top speed without the updates.

You're completely ignoring the improvement in harvesting efficiency using the MGU-H and K. An increase in harvesting allows them to deploy the MGU-K for longer for fairly substantial benefit.

Remember Ferrari's increase in performance last year just from an improvement to the hybrid side of the PU?

[_cerber1]

The news resource F1uno or F1analystica wrote that the first engines were not started at maximum power from the very beginning, and for the first time this was done at the second training session of the Miami GP (Russell), in order to check. In Barcelona, debuted the second version, which, according to Toto Wolf, took a step forward in terms of power, thanks to which it was possible to achieve this is not disclosed. Perhaps they had all the necessary modes and mapping from the very beginning, but for their successful launch, they first wanted to make sure that all components and assemblies were reliable.

[diffuser]

They will give you maximum power for longer and if there are efficiency gains on the MGU-K then slightly power total power to the wheels (the 120kw is and input power limit ergo if the MGU-K is more efficient then more of that power makes it to the wheels).

Either way the same max power for longer periods means that you are potentially keeping the speed up for longer on a straight or you can use deployment more aggressively. As far as lap time goes it is analogous to having more power.

Right, lets be serious, after 8 years with the same formula, how much more efficient can they make that MGU-K ? 5 HP would be alot IMHO ? 5 HP at 320KPH would translate into KPH measured with a decimal place. Let's face it, the update they brought to Barca is far more likely to have helped that top speed. Would have been nice to see the Top speed without the updates.

You're completely ignoring the improvement in harvesting efficiency using the MGU-H and K. An increase in harvesting allows them to deploy the MGU-K for longer for fairly substantial benefit.

Remember Ferrari's increase in performance last year just from an improvement to the hybrid side of the PU?

It's just he said "more power" not the same power longer. So it's a bit of a extrapulation to interpret Totos coments that way. In Quali they get to start the hot lap with a fully charged battery. Plus the Barcelona track is only 60% full throttle, they likely don't have a need for more electricity to power the MGU-K through the lap. They were near the top in top speed in all sectors in Spain.

[Motörhead]

The news resource F1uno or F1analystica wrote that the first engines were not started at maximum power from the very beginning, and for the first time this was done at the second training session of the Miami GP (Russell), in order to check. In Barcelona, debuted the second version, which, according to Toto Wolf, took a step forward in terms of power, thanks to which it was possible to achieve this is not disclosed. Perhaps they had all the necessary modes and mapping from the very beginning, but for their successful launch, they first wanted to make sure that all components and assemblies were reliable.

Correct.
They ran a new power unit at the end of last season when Lewis was trying to win the championship. It delivered more power but was risky as it was largely unproven. Remember his sudden gain in speed? So, they took the risk.
So, they already had that in the locker.
At the beginning of this season, they turned it down focusing on reliability.
Hence, why they can gain more power in the first part of the season.
Yes, the engines are frozen but, if there is a big disparity between engine manufactures, I believe there is a mechanism in place to help provide a 'catch up' for the engines lacking in power. I'm not implying that this has happened in this case. But the aforementioned is what has happened.
I hope that clears it up!

[PhillipM]

It's literally as easy as the didn't push the mapping to the edge until they had some of the first units back to be able to check the wear and damage over lifetime were as simulated. Mclaren themselves even confirmed that was the stance from Merc, I know because I remember writing on here about it even back during testing and the first GP.

There's no point pushing the mapping to the limit in the first few GP's to gain a tenth of a second when you car is half a second or a second behind the guys in front.
You wait until you have the data and it's not a risk any more.

[NL_Fer]

Maybe they found some new mappings which can extract more power AND put less wear on the powerunit. As a result they can run those new mappings from first use of new powerunit.

[JPower]

https://www.racefans.net/2022/05/31/nor ... g-results/

Lando on adapting to the new car.

Norris’s results have been in sharp contrast to those of his team mate. “It’s still a new car and it’s not just for Daniel,” he said, “it’s not just for other people. It’s the same for everyone.”

“There’s a lot of things I’ve had to try and readjust to this year,” he explained. “I feel like I’m getting there now with that, I feel like I can unlock a bit more pace come qualifying and the race last weekend.

“I’m just understanding things more. So it’s still a learning process for me, I’m still learning a lot of things. It’s not like because I’ve been with McLaren I know everything and how everything works perfectly. Quite the opposite.

“It’s been a new car for me, new tyres, new set-ups, new everything. So in some ways it’s still like a new fresh start for me and a new team and I have to reassess how I drive the car in some ways.”

[NL_Fer]

Perez signed a two year deal till 2024, so we won’t see Piere Gazly at Redbull soon. How would he compare next to Norris? I think he is a very solid driver now.

[BassVirolla]

Perez signed a two year deal till 2024, so we won’t see Piere Gazly at Redbull soon. How would he compare next to Norris? I think he is a very solid driver now.

But a one who struggled with a car not working to his preferences. The McLaren seems to need an adaptable driver, or a late braker, and quick in the rotation of the car.

Nevertheless, this pointy behaviour is the opposite of the Verstappen's style of braking early and carrying speed through the corner.

So... could Gasly be comfortable in the McL?

[Mansell89]

Please, replacing Ricciardo with Gasly would be such a let down.

Gas man isn’t really doing much of note this year and frankly Alpha T were a team that didn’t maximise results for their relative one lap pace last year IMO.


Only one man good enough to replace Ric and that’s Alonso, but suspect there would need to be a straight swap for that to happen as Danny has only Renault as a serious option if McL decide to part ways.

Personally, I hope he comes alive and suddenly starts to record some cracking races.

If that fails, Alonso would be a hell of a good benchmark for young Norris to race with. If he wins that battle you know then he’s the right kid to back the team around long term. Alonso would also drive the wheels off whatever he’s given and is an absolute known quantity.

Still think Dan is closer this year than the results have shown so let’s hope we see it.

[A.J.O]

With the help of f1-tempo.com, I've been trying to analyze where the two drivers strengths and weakness lie within the MCL36 in current trim.
I looked for a similar lap time, on the same tire, similar track conditions and hopefully similar fuel loads in order to see how each driver is putting that lap together.
Qualifying
NOR lap 11- 1:12.927 softs
RIC Lap 20 -1:12.964 softs
This results in the conclusion that NOR is able to carry more speed into and through the corner and RIC is getting a better exit resulting in higher straight line speed.
Obviously NOR was able to improve on this time with a Q3 time of 1:11.849 and RIC was not. Unknown if he could have as lap 20 time was not good enough to progress to Q3

If there is a flaw in this logic please point it out.