godlameroso wrote: ↑26 Aug 2018, 04:27
Red Bull gained .5 copying Ferrari, I don't know how good the designers are at McLaren, but .3 is not out of the realm of possibility.
You know, I kept thinking about the whole mid-wing configuration and I asked myself, where does the vortex from the nose go? Turns out, we were wrong to assume it went to the undercut. It actually goes under the floor through the vacancy in the mid-wing. Whereas others use this area to power the outwash, Mclaren use it to guide air under the floor, like I said previously. This compromises the outwash and risks diffuser stall. This method of powering the floor is incredibly inefficient as well, given the high turning angle would result in obvious drag.
Mercedes use the same cape concept, but they use it to power the outwash. Note mid-wing.
What's a proven method of using the floor to good effect is the tea-tray extension. It catches air up top and directs it downwards underneath the floor. The vortex generators help energize the air that goes to the diffuser and you have a double whammy. Ferrari supposedly gain 3 tenths just from tweaking this area further around Silverstone.
How does this explain the drag issue? The lack of an S-duct means frontal air that would've flown through the car straight away now has now a great turning angle which makes its path difficult. All this isn't helped by the very short bargeboard length. The weak diffuser due to aforementioned reasons also effects corners exit speed which just exacerbates the problem.
Mclaren in the end abandoned a proven solution for a gamble.