McLaren MP4-28 Mercedes

[wesley123]

If I understood well Button's interview, the movement of the front of the car (porpoising) is the reason. AKA front pull rod.

I dont see the link, how does porpoising at the front relate to the pull rod? Is it so that that cant happen on a push rod?

If they run the T-tray lower then they get higher but inconsistent downforce (because of the movement), or they damage the floor

Isnt the McLaren the one with almost no suspension movement getting all their suspension out of the tires? If that is the case, how come the other teams with more movement do not have that problem?

The problem isnt movement, the problem is sensitivity under movement.

I am just sticking to correlation issues, these "big improvements" Button talked about, were they ever seen? No, yet the simulator obviously told them so, else Button wouldnt have said that(ofc there is some PR with that).

Other than that, they have just built a car that just isnt good enough, a car that didnt improve enough, the rest of the field improved more than they did, and with that it is logical that they then are further back on the grid.

It isnt that bad of a thought really, Ferrari made some good improvement, so did Mercedes, LRGP, and Force India. When you add this up, you immediately see that they have lost 3 places on the quickest team, which relates to the point standings(last year they ended 3rd in the WCC, now they are 6th)

[ringo]

We can't assume the simulator told them anything useful.
I feel they are being facetious when they say what they thought would work didn't work to solve the problem.
They may be bringing upgrades to ease the problem, and not to solve, reason being they know their problem is unsolvable unless the front of the chassis is all new. Until then the car will handle like crap and the bandaids will be just that.

[Clew]

I think Merc's problem is with the engine manufacturer

[BlackSwan]

Hi!! New parts tested in Idiada by McLaren.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/108288

[Pup]

So, Button says...

"I think we do have OK downforce, but the problem for us has been the ride quality of the car."

But Neale says...

"The only issue with our car is we lack downforce"

One of these guys doesn't know what he's talking about.

[Saribro]

Or both..

[henra]

One of these guys doesn't know what he's talking about.

I have the feeling they can trade to some extent between these two:
OK downforce with miserable ride and traction or
OK ride and traction but lack of downforce/driveability.

The problem appears to be to achieve a competitive level of stable downforce with a setup that really utilises springs and dampers instead of solid mountings of the wheels to the Chassis. ( )

On a more serious note, Jonathan Neale might have a bit more insight as to what real problems the engineers are fighting, while Jenson more gets to see the end result.
Somewhat along the lines:
Real Problem: Aerodynamic instability as a function of ride height.
Fix: Stiff suspension.
End result: poor traction/ride quality.

So, yes they can both be right at the same time.

[Racer X]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23053940


This article talks about the team and how it tested in Barcelona in straightline speed some new parts for the car. And how they are bringing alot of updates to the car for Silverstone

[stefan_]

Great Britain 2013 - Thursday (27.06.2013)

[turbof1]

Altered vodafone livery, giving it a little bit more a 3D-ish feel.

[stefan_]

Great Britain 2013 - Friday (28.06.2013)

[Thunder]

On the First Picture the ride Height reminds me more of a WRD Car than F1. ^^

[gloomyandy]

Do wet tyres give you a higher ride height? Seem to remember they do, but not 100% sure.

[Just_a_fan]

Wet tyres have a 10mm greater diameter (670mm v 660mm).

[Richard]

Also a full wet setup will change the suspension to give a greater ride height if they are concerned about aquaplaning on the plank.

I recall Brawn did that on one of those rain drenched races in Asia a few years ago. The race was stopped and the team changed the suspension setup on the grid while they waited for the restart.