McLaren MCL37 speculation thread

[haza]

As one hasn’t been made yet I’ll do the honours .

One part of last years car that changed a lot over the season was the sidepods I wonder if they will continue with the concept or follow in the direction of a Ferrari/redbull concept

[Stu]

They kept the unique front floor throughout the season, didn’t they; I wonder if they will keep with that and evolve the concept further. I thought that it was a neat touch and if controlled correctly provides a very energised airflow.
Whether that comes at the expense of some front load or not I cannot know.

[scarbs]

They kept the unique front floor throughout the season, didn’t they; I wonder if they will keep with that and evolve the concept further. I thought that it was a neat touch and if controlled correctly provides a very energised airflow.
Whether that comes at the expense of some front load or not I cannot know.

They discarded that late in the season

[scarbs]

They'll adopt a water/air intercooler, losing the big sidepod mounted intercoolers. This should open up some opportunities to repackage the very long radiator set up from last year.

[haza]

I’m hoping the car is not as draggy though part of me suspects most of the straight line deficit came from the PU there were rumours the Mercedes PU was slightly underpowered due to the new fuel

[organic]

They kept the unique front floor throughout the season, didn’t they; I wonder if they will keep with that and evolve the concept further. I thought that it was a neat touch and if controlled correctly provides a very energised airflow.
Whether that comes at the expense of some front load or not I cannot know.

The unique floor solution got patched over with their Singapore upgrade

[_cerber1]

I’m hoping the car is not as draggy though part of me suspects most of the straight line deficit came from the PU there were rumours the Mercedes PU was slightly underpowered due to the new fuel

I do not think that there is any significant lag in the motor, in Monza Mercedes and McLaren were quite fast. We simply do not have the former advantage in the motor, as it was in previous years.

[haza]

I’m hoping the car is not as draggy though part of me suspects most of the straight line deficit came from the PU there were rumours the Mercedes PU was slightly underpowered due to the new fuel

I do not think that there is any significant lag in the motor, in Monza Mercedes and McLaren were quite fast. We simply do not have the former advantage in the motor, as it was in previous years.

Is there an engine freeze in affect this year im sure there was but I’ve seen that Ferrari has an extra 30hp coming to there units im hoping merc can squeeze abit out the 23 PU

[the EDGE]

I’m hoping the car is not as draggy though part of me suspects most of the straight line deficit came from the PU there were rumours the Mercedes PU was slightly underpowered due to the new fuel

I do not think that there is any significant lag in the motor, in Monza Mercedes and McLaren were quite fast. We simply do not have the former advantage in the motor, as it was in previous years.

Is there an engine freeze in affect this year im sure there was but I’ve seen that Ferrari has an extra 30hp coming to there units im hoping merc can squeeze abit out the 23 PU

The short answer is… yes

The long answer is upgrades in the name of ‘reliability’ can be made. Ferrari claim to have had to dial down the performance of their PU in ‘22 due to its unreliability, which they now claim to have fixed, so they can dial it back up again

Legal? Apparently, fair? That’s up to individuals to decide for themselves

[Vanja #66]

Legal? Apparently, fair? That’s up to individuals to decide for themselves

What would be unfair about homologating highest power you reached and then looking for reliability step by step?

[the EDGE]

Legal? Apparently, fair? That’s up to individuals to decide for themselves

What would be unfair about homologating highest power you reached and then looking for reliability step by step?

Because it could potentially opens up an avenue to abuse the situation to find extra power

If for example, Ferraris engine is reliable at say 1000bhp, how can they claim the engine needs upgrades for reliability, so they can push that 1030bhp, it could easily be argued that is not a reliability upgrade, rather a performance upgrade

I guess it really depends on on what the scope of the upgrade is, and for that we have to have faith & trust in the FIA

Sadly in life, I am a sceptic and trust no one, especially the FIA, so as I said, I leave it up to others to decide for themselves if it is fair, or not

[mwillems]

One of the changes being tested towards the end of the season were the blocks on the underfloor to prevent it from bottoming out whilst running a little more rake and a slightly softer rear.

So depending on that evaluation we may well see this coming through.

[Vanja #66]

Because it could potentially opens up an avenue to abuse the situation to find extra power

***

Every engine had to demonstrate the power on the test bench. I imagine some endurance conditions had to be applied as well. No manufacturer allowed themselves to miss the trick to declare the very maximum they could reach and satisfy those conditions and it could be that no engine will reach those declared numbers ever, due to extra short life.

All four manufacturers will bring reliability updates that will allow them to reach desired reliability in ever higher power modes. All those updates take time to get cleared and must be cleared by other three makers as well, not just the FIA.

[the EDGE]

Because it could potentially opens up an avenue to abuse the situation to find extra power

***

Every engine had to demonstrate the power on the test bench. I imagine some endurance conditions had to be applied as well. No manufacturer allowed themselves to miss the trick to declare the very maximum they could reach and satisfy those conditions and it could be that no engine will reach those declared numbers ever, due to extra short life.

All four manufacturers will bring reliability updates that will allow them to reach desired reliability in ever higher power modes. All those updates take time to get cleared and must be cleared by other three makers as well, not just the FIA.

Thanks for taking the time to explain that, I’ll break a habit of a life time and take your word for it, and admit that does sound fair

So I guess other manufacturers may also have found performance over the winter, but are just not making a song & dance about it

On a side note, I have always found it strange the Ferrari leak so much information about the upcoming cars, I used to be very sceptical of any rumours, given how secretive the world of F1 is, but I’ve come to learn that these leaks usually turn out to be true, to some extent

[Vanja #66]

On a side note, I have always found it strange the Ferrari leak so much information about the upcoming cars, I used to be very sceptical of any rumours, given how secretive the world of F1 is, but I’ve come to learn that these leaks usually turn out to be true, to some extent

Not sure Italians are known as being very discreet

At least half the rumors for any team are always "enhanced" by journous, so if we look past the numbers and buzz words and focus on the main things - its usually close to the truth.