McLaren has unveiled its 2019 Formula One race car, named MCL34. As with the 2018 car, the covers were taken off at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, UK.
A place to discuss the characteristics of the cars in Formula One, both current as well as historical. Laptimes, driver worshipping and team chatter do not belong here.
Even cooler video! Looks like Carlos lost those six one-hundredths at the last corner! Had a bit of oversteer there. The car does look very fast in the straights. The car looks very promising!
One thing I notice is how early Carlos is able to go full throttle compared to Max, really good traction
Yeah, Carlos said that the rear end grip is good, but the car lacks a bit of front end grip. Hopefully, we'll see some small updates that will help with front end grip in China as it is a front downforce heavy track.
Even cooler video! Looks like Carlos lost those six one-hundredths at the last corner! Had a bit of oversteer there. The car does look very fast in the straights. The car looks very promising!
thats a nice comparison thanks , i still think mclarens maine plane and raised outer sections differ from the rest, it starts earlier which costs front df, im not saing its wrong, its just an observation
Secondly, the front wing operates in ‘ground effect’. This is the phenomenon whereby as the proximity between ground and the front wing diminishes, an enhancement in downforce level is observed at an exponential rate (that is until the wing ‘stalls’ – more on this in the next article). Ground effect increases the efficiency of downforce production and is partly why the latest trend is to run the car at extreme rake (i.e low front ride height and high rear ride height means the front wing sits closer to the ground).
Ground effect has nothing to do with it. Mclaren already runs the fw low to the ground for ground effect and better diffuser performance via high rake. The outboard section of mainplane is raised to let air into the two strakes underneath, which generate outwash.
China is a low-medium downforce track under these aero regulations. The rear wing may change for Barcelona which is a medium-high downforce track.
Mclaren are hunting for front downforce not just from front wing but also from speeding up the the air flow under the floor.
Floor downforce helps rear-end traction. The FW is the only part of the car - since there's no S-duct - that generates upwash for the front.
Why wouldn't McLaren make use of an S duct though? Looks like it wasn't there last year either, if I'm not mistaken.
Q: (Stefano Mancini – La Stampa) Kimi, will you help Vettel to win his championship this year?
Kimi Raikkonen: I can only drive one car, obviously.
@2018 Singapore Grand Prix drivers press conference.
