McLaren MCL33

[BrunoH]

im surprised that given Mclarens tipical lack of top speed on a trach that favors top spead, they kept the vortex generators on top of the sidepods, even Mercedes seem to take them off for this one to reduce overall drag

[godlameroso]

im surprised that given Mclarens tipical lack of top speed on a trach that favors top spead, they kept the vortex generators on top of the sidepods, even Mercedes seem to take them off for this one to reduce overall drag

Those vortex generators aren't why the car is so draggy.

[techman]

mclaren expected a second gain from switching to renault but reality it was not the case. if you look at the speed traps . all the renault runners are consistently down the table. mclaren on average 1 to 2 kmph down on renault and 4 or 5 kmph down on redbull. the redbull is quicker because they have the best mechanical grip out of all the renault runners and the rest. and in terms of aero efficiency they are the best plus they have the best braking in f1 currently. mclaren are not bad in high speed corners but its slow speed and straights where they struggle.

[PhillipM]

You can't really look at isolated parts for drag, especially if they're fulfilling another function, the vortex generators may be too draggy with Merc at 1s a lap faster that already runs with other sidepod flow conditioners, yet they may still be worth the tradeoff on a slower car without conditioners. Taking them off might (probably does) just make the car slower everywhere.

They're very methodically working back from the new nose now so it's obvious they have a firm direction they want to take at least, it'll be a case of seeing if Mclaren can be the development juggernaut it used to be known for and keep going.
It's just a little frustrating watching small parts appear each race instead of the big update packages we're used to

On a side note, I'm still a bit perplexed as to what happened to the sidepod update, to the point where they've now just ground the old sidepod deflector mounts off and smoothed this version out.
I wonder if they only worked with the new nose and they scrapped them and went back to R&D when it was evident the nose wouldn't be ready for a while?

[godlameroso]

Still in the design phase possibly? It's really hard to develop that area, it's almost baked into the chassis. So changing that requires a B-spec chassis, it's a huge investment. The payoff would have to be guaranteed before going down that route.

[mclaren111]

Still in the design phase possibly? It's really hard to develop that area, it's almost baked into the chassis. So changing that requires a B-spec chassis, it's a huge investment. The payoff would have to be guaranteed before going down that route.

Keep in mind the big changes for 2019. I would only persue now what can be used & fixed for 2019.

At the top is Rear Suspension

[godlameroso]

Still in the design phase possibly? It's really hard to develop that area, it's almost baked into the chassis. So changing that requires a B-spec chassis, it's a huge investment. The payoff would have to be guaranteed before going down that route.

Keep in mind the big changes for 2019. I would only persue now what can be used & fixed for 2019.

At the top is Rear Suspension

The mid wing area doesn't change at all, just lower bargeboard leading edge. Neither does the diffuser, and the front wing won't change things too much. The biggest change comes from the draggier rear wing.

[diffuser]

FP1, I can see flow vis on the front wing and on the floor in the rear.

[jk-27]

Still in the design phase possibly? It's really hard to develop that area, it's almost baked into the chassis. So changing that requires a B-spec chassis, it's a huge investment. The payoff would have to be guaranteed before going down that route.

Keep in mind the big changes for 2019. I would only persue now what can be used & fixed for 2019.

At the top is Rear Suspension

The mid wing area doesn't change at all, just lower bargeboard leading edge. Neither does the diffuser, and the front wing won't change things too much. The biggest change comes from the draggier rear wing.

The front wing is a big change, at least in terms of design. All the intricate winglets that have been heavily developed over the years to push air away from the front tyres and affect the wake are going, so that's a massive change which will require new stratagies to better work the air at the front.

McLaren spent a lot of time on developing the front of the car this year, and they'll have to do the same thing all over again for next year. It is mind boggling stupidity on their behalf in how they are/aren't developing the car effectively. This is further shown by the fact that Torro Rosso seem to be having a much easier time with the Honda, and are almost as quick as McLaren. McLaren are becoming the next Williams. Nothing but also rans trading on past glories.

[M840TR]

FP1, I can see flow vis on the front wing and on the floor in the rear.

Aero testing for front end

[f1rules]

Yeah flowvis for many laps on the sidepod of alonso, the area could suggest, they are testing for flow seperation issue ala force india maybe

[GoranF1]

Strange curvature on the floor or just strange angle of the picture?

[media]https://twitter.com/giselle_zm/status/1 ... 64096?s=19[/media]

[f1rules]

Perfect thanks, exact this area suggest they check if flow stay attached i think

Strange curvature on the floor or just strange angle of the picture?

https://twitter.com/giselle_zm/status/1 ... 64096?s=19

[M840TR]

Flo-viz on bargeboards and rear of the undercut

[Dipesh1995]

Flo-viz on bargeboards and undercut

https://imgr3.auto-motor-und-sport.de/S ... 168825.jpg
https://imgr4.auto-motor-und-sport.de/F ... 168826.jpg

Don't know if this has already been mentioned but they've got new bargeboards this weekend with four new vortex generators shown by the top image.