2025 McLaren F1 Team

[mwillems]

https://www.planetf1.com/news/lando-nor ... qualifying

Lando says the gap to the other drivers in Q was only in small part down to the car, but was largely down to the skills of Lando and Oscar and that others should look in the mirror and not at the 39.

Ouch.

Also says they will be very strong in China, because they are always stronger in China, and that at Bahrain he isn't confident of a win.

I don't really like what he said, but whatever, it's not the first time Lando says random stuff on live interviews.

Unless they (the team) actually believes the margins will be tight. The only way for Lando not to look bad for what he said, is if they're really not in contention for the win at Bahrain.

You have to think he might be overplaying himself. But he's talking like a cocky F1 driver who believes in himself so I have no complaints.

[CjC]

Horner, talking of Mclarens "strange" ability.

"I think it's different to every body, yes. And what's quite strange is that they enjoy great warm-up, but also, [a] very low degradation. Usually one comes at the expense of the other, so they've certainly, at this circuit, seem to have mastered that," he concluded.

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/332903/h ... range.html

I bet he wishes the cost cap era was never introduced so he can enjoy an advantage over the majority of the field before a wheel is even turned in testing.

[f1rules]

Lol, are you serious. It will be a very difficult thing. As you cant see what is going on. Horner is already mentioning now that it looks strange, what mclaren can do. Russell commented also on this. So the others first need to find out what it is exactly mclaren is doing, cause they all use the brake heat to aid the tires. Mclaren just somehow manage to get heat fast and then stay in optimum range

The Mclaren's dominant pace advantage appears to be stemming from their ability to keep the tires alive for almost eternity. That cake tin aero cooling appears to be doing a lot of the magic. Having tires in great condition allows the drivers to push the car harder on all kinds of corners and the tire pressure doesn't balloon up either, providing consistent high grip. As it's a relatively easy trick to copy, we might see that appearing up and down the grid in a few races' time. If that indeed is a major boost, then McLaren may not keep the advantage for long. That's just a hunch.

[f1rules]

Lets see if the other teams are not, even more vocal about this, keeping the tires alive, after the next race. Cause next up is the neverending first corner that put huge stress on the tires, and with mclarens strong frontend, i cant wait to see what the car can do

The Shanghai International Circuit is known for its elongated, long-radius medium speed corners that usually put high energy through the tyres. These characteristics often lead to high degradation on the front tyres, and it is not rare that drivers have to manage graining on the fronts. The front-limited nature of the track means that a car that can look after the front tyre can gain a significant advantage.

[f1rules]

Also some points.
> Merc adopted a much higher cooling option, more gills, in australia. McL didnt change a thing. They dont even seem marginal on cooling at all in their default cooling setup.
> McL running a small beamwing compared to others, which ran barndoors in comparison, except RB.
> Mcl was the first car to have a shakedown well before others, and they are basicly running last years fw, which is very mclaren'ish in their approach. Following them for years and years, ill imagine the next step will be an updtaed fw, and then later a new floor. They tend to start at the front and move backwards.
> Wache saying McL's front suspension had some risks, regarding the mech aspect. Yet the McL newer seemed to have better frontend and slow speed corner handling then now, and almost perfect at keeping the tires in optimum working range.
This car is just insane on so many levels

[bauc]

Finally been able to post again, the site was unreachable for me, supper happy to see us upfront at the start of the season, great race by NOR and super unlucky PIA otherwise we were on pace a clear 1-2 victors yesterday.

It gives me hope that if we keep this up for long enough, we can compete for both titles this year.

Cant wait for this weeks race in China.

[bauc]

Finally been able to post again, the site was unreachable for me, supper happy to see us upfront at the start of the season, great race by NOR and super unlucky PIA otherwise we were on pace a clear 1-2 victors yesterday.

It gives me hope that if we keep this up for long enough, we can compete for both titles this year.

Cant wait for this weeks race in China.

[bauc]

I think last time McLaren was this fast was 98

Kudos to the team, both title should come quite easily

I too had flashbacks to the West liveried McLarens fighting each other, well clear of the pack in Australia in 98

Haha same here, I got this flashback when the camera showed PIA right behind NOR on the end of the main straight and then the frame stood there watching few a few seconds until MAX showed up in the background.

[mwillems]

Lol, are you serious. It will be a very difficult thing. As you cant see what is going on. Horner is already mentioning now that it looks strange, what mclaren can do. Russell commented also on this. So the others first need to find out what it is exactly mclaren is doing, cause they all use the brake heat to aid the tires. Mclaren just somehow manage to get heat fast and then stay in optimum range

The Mclaren's dominant pace advantage appears to be stemming from their ability to keep the tires alive for almost eternity. That cake tin aero cooling appears to be doing a lot of the magic. Having tires in great condition allows the drivers to push the car harder on all kinds of corners and the tire pressure doesn't balloon up either, providing consistent high grip. As it's a relatively easy trick to copy, we might see that appearing up and down the grid in a few races' time. If that indeed is a major boost, then McLaren may not keep the advantage for long. That's just a hunch.

Indeed. As Horner states, this outcome is counterintuitive. Big thick walls of rubber aren't getting up to heat in the wet that quickly because of a brake tin either. Although it might just be because the tyres have a better and more consistent contact with the ground and not just or at all about heating the tyres.

We shouldn't rule out that the suspension setup and any internal changes to the Center of Gravity just keeps the tyres in the contact sweet spot more than others. Is the car rolling less? Might be worth looking at the shoulders of the tyres compared to others. Horner says tyre heating, but I doubt he knows the temps the Mclaren tyres are actually at or how quickly they get there. This could be a red herring or another lead in towards water-gate

[mwillems]

Also some points.
> Merc adopted a much higher cooling option, more gills, in australia. McL didnt change a thing. They dont even seem marginal on cooling at all in their default cooling setup.
> McL running a small beamwing compared to others, which ran barndoors in comparison, except RB.
> Mcl was the first car to have a shakedown well before others, and they are basicly running last years fw, which is very mclaren'ish in their approach. Following them for years and years, ill imagine the next step will be an updtaed fw, and then later a new floor. They tend to start at the front and move backwards.
> Wache saying McL's front suspension had some risks, regarding the mech aspect. Yet the McL newer seemed to have better frontend and slow speed corner handling then now, and almost perfect at keeping the tires in optimum working range.
This car is just insane on so many levels

And it's important to note that the car is improved in all cornering speeds, so this isn't just downforce. The car is better all over, although they do seemed to have maintained the slight top speed difference although the disadvantage is overplayed. They've built a very RB car that is brilliant into, through the corners, and the exits. No point being faster in a straight line if all it does is help you make up a little of the deficit from everywhere else. As I said in testing, what they have done to the nose is mighty. Some people thing the rear is a weakness, but it's moved on, but the front is so good it has the ability to make the rear look bad, but it really isn't.

The way this car not only carries through a corner but then destroys any competitor in a drag race from the corner is, in my view, unprecedented. It is ridiculous how good this car is... on one competitive track

We may well have some nasty surprises and ups and downs yet. Let's see how we do on some of the other configurations, including particularly bumpy tracks.

Mclarens front wing was quite flexible, more than some others, so running the "older" front wing is likely not an issue. They will most certainly be working on this as they have to bring a new wing for Spain. Unless it is faster than the flexible wing and it is fully compatible with the parts behind, they may not bring it before. We might instead see a more comprehensive package at Race 9, or a package being released in the races immediately preceding the Spanish GP.

Talking of wings, I notice we heard nothing at all about rear wings this weekend.

[Farnborough]

Lol, are you serious. It will be a very difficult thing. As you cant see what is going on. Horner is already mentioning now that it looks strange, what mclaren can do. Russell commented also on this. So the others first need to find out what it is exactly mclaren is doing, cause they all use the brake heat to aid the tires. Mclaren just somehow manage to get heat fast and then stay in optimum range

The Mclaren's dominant pace advantage appears to be stemming from their ability to keep the tires alive for almost eternity. That cake tin aero cooling appears to be doing a lot of the magic. Having tires in great condition allows the drivers to push the car harder on all kinds of corners and the tire pressure doesn't balloon up either, providing consistent high grip. As it's a relatively easy trick to copy, we might see that appearing up and down the grid in a few races' time. If that indeed is a major boost, then McLaren may not keep the advantage for long. That's just a hunch.

Indeed. As Horner states, this outcome is counterintuitive. Big thick walls of rubber aren't getting up to heat in the wet that quickly because of a brake tin either. Although it might just be because the tyres have a better and more consistent contact with the ground and not just or at all about heating the tyres.

We shouldn't rule out that the suspension setup and any internal changes to the Center of Gravity just keeps the tyres in the contact sweet spot more than others. Is the car rolling less? Might be worth looking at the shoulders of the tyres compared to others. Horner says tyre heating, but I doubt he knows the temps the Mclaren tyres are actually at or how quickly they get there. This could be a red herring or another lead in towards water-gate

That couldn't be further from reality, if anyone has even cursory experience of these tyres and their mass etc.

They are far more akin to a thin rubber bag, with a tread gauge added to that light weight structure. They are very significantly influenced by ambient conditions. Thats one of their big limitations, in using a larger wheel tyre (18 inch era) to keep mass as low as possible, still difficult, but very susceptible to easily acquired shifts in temperature. One of the biggest challenges is just this for this era. Pirelli receive slot of criticism from lay opinion on here, when reality of demand is a very difficult to produce.

Compared to most people's experience, these tyres are as this as thin can be in structure. And why they can be cut so easily.

[mwillems]

Lets see if the other teams are not, even more vocal about this, keeping the tires alive, after the next race. Cause next up is the neverending first corner that put huge stress on the tires, and with mclarens strong frontend, i cant wait to see what the car can do

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GKzhLkPWcAACJhX.jpg

The Shanghai International Circuit is known for its elongated, long-radius medium speed corners that usually put high energy through the tyres. These characteristics often lead to high degradation on the front tyres, and it is not rare that drivers have to manage graining on the fronts. The front-limited nature of the track means that a car that can look after the front tyre can gain a significant advantage.

This will be fascinating because the first long corner is trail braking for most of the time you are in there and the second very long corner is controller acceleration for the first half before flooring it shortly after you reach the outer kerb and start to point towards the exit line.

Both have very specific technical requirements, it'll be interesting to see where the strengths are in these types of corner.

[mwillems]

Lol, are you serious. It will be a very difficult thing. As you cant see what is going on. Horner is already mentioning now that it looks strange, what mclaren can do. Russell commented also on this. So the others first need to find out what it is exactly mclaren is doing, cause they all use the brake heat to aid the tires. Mclaren just somehow manage to get heat fast and then stay in optimum range

Indeed. As Horner states, this outcome is counterintuitive. Big thick walls of rubber aren't getting up to heat in the wet that quickly because of a brake tin either. Although it might just be because the tyres have a better and more consistent contact with the ground and not just or at all about heating the tyres.

We shouldn't rule out that the suspension setup and any internal changes to the Center of Gravity just keeps the tyres in the contact sweet spot more than others. Is the car rolling less? Might be worth looking at the shoulders of the tyres compared to others. Horner says tyre heating, but I doubt he knows the temps the Mclaren tyres are actually at or how quickly they get there. This could be a red herring or another lead in towards water-gate

That couldn't be further from reality, if anyone has even cursory experience of these tyres and their mass etc.

They are far more akin to a thin rubber bag, with a tread gauge added to that light weight structure. They are very significantly influenced by ambient conditions. Thats one of their big limitations, in using a larger wheel tyre (18 inch era) to keep mass as low as possible, still difficult, but very susceptible to easily acquired shifts in temperature. One of the biggest challenges is just this for this era. Pirelli receive slot of criticism from lay opinion on here, when reality of demand is a very difficult to produce.

Compared to most people's experience, these tyres are as this as thin can be in structure. And why they can be cut so easily.

Nicely condescending lol Point is that the ability of cake tins relative to the amount of rubber. It is too much rubber for cake tins to warm up that quickly. None the less, in the wet to get up to speed that quickly it seems to be less about heat, is my point. To my untrained eye, they are thick, but that adjective doesn't have any bearing on the point. They are good from the get go, so is this really tyre temp magic whilst running through cooling water? It feels like the source of the speed might come from somewhere else.

How thick are the walls of the tyres, incidentally? Do you have any links, I'm curious now, not that it makes any difference at this point.

[De Wet]

https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula- ... nnovation/


Interesting article.

[venkyhere]

And it's important to note that the car is improved in all cornering speeds, so this isn't just downforce. The car is better all over, although they do seemed to have maintained the slight top speed difference although the disadvantage is overplayed. They've built a very RB car that is brilliant into, through the corners, and the exits.

I am inclined to think that McLaren have found a clever 'additional component/geometry' (the silver bullet) across their load bearing wishbones, roll bar and the front track rod ; in such a way, that the difference in camber across the front wheels ( that will depend on : lateral load (speed carried), longitudinal load (braking/acceleration) & curvature (slip angle) of a corner ) is "optimized" to ensure the best possible contact patch, for all possible camber and air pressure settings that are track specific. The innovation is not aero or front wings, but purely mechanical. Perhaps the 'weird' front suspension geometry with it's peculiar track rod positioning, is ostensibly for aero-wash benefits, but actually for something clever like this, and the aero-benefit is a corollary.

Of course, this is blind conjecture and I am not formally trained as a mechanical engineer.