McLaren MCL35M

[CjC]

After the Aston Martin reveal, the McLaren is certainly looking a little bloated. Nervous for this season.

The silverstone car definitely looks like the real deal but it was always going to be once they decided to do what they did for last season and now buying as many Merc parts as they can. I’d feel embarrassed if I was Andy Green

The racing trainer of Stroll participates often in the Portuguese commentary for F1 and even he makes jokes about the "photos" of the W10/W11

It’s all a farce if you ask me, there’s a strong chance they’ll win a race again this season only this time as ‘Aston Martin’ and everyone will be in euphoria, celebrating a win for Aston Martin in their debut season but it’s all been achieved with a car that is either built from copied or purchased Mercedes parts that’s not F1 for me and it’s especially ludicrous that the name of the team is a car manufacturer now- a good one too

Anyway that’s for another thread so

[Ground Effect]

Does anyone know if McLaren did any work on the suspension, front or/and rear?

[mclaren111]

Does anyone know if McLaren did any work on the suspension, front or/and rear?

Most probably some changes to Rear Suspension due to gearbox change... Should be limited due to tokens...

[Ground Effect]

Does anyone know if McLaren did any work on the suspension, front or/and rear?

Most probably some changes to Rear Suspension due to gearbox change... Should be limited due to tokens...

I was surprised when James Allison said that suspension work was token free during the Mercedes car launch, I didn’t think it was, so got me wondering if McLaren did anything significant in that area.


"In addition, there are some parts of the car that you can change token-free, for example the power unit, the cooling systems, the suspension and of course all of the aerodynamic surfaces.

"We have spent our tokens, but we won't reveal how we used them just yet. That'll become clear in good time." - James Allison

[BosF1]

Does anyone know if McLaren did any work on the suspension, front or/and rear?

Most probably some changes to Rear Suspension due to gearbox change... Should be limited due to tokens...

I was surprised when James Allison said that suspension work was token free during the Mercedes car launch, I didn’t think it was, so got me wondering if McLaren did anything significant in that area.


"In addition, there are some parts of the car that you can change token-free, for example the power unit, the cooling systems, the suspension and of course all of the aerodynamic surfaces.

"We have spent our tokens, but we won't reveal how we used them just yet. That'll become clear in good time." - James Allison

But I don't think that includes suspension geometry, because that is directly connected to the chassis and that does require tokens to change. My best guess he is talking about suspension components?

[Ground Effect]

Most probably some changes to Rear Suspension due to gearbox change... Should be limited due to tokens...

I was surprised when James Allison said that suspension work was token free during the Mercedes car launch, I didn’t think it was, so got me wondering if McLaren did anything significant in that area.


"In addition, there are some parts of the car that you can change token-free, for example the power unit, the cooling systems, the suspension and of course all of the aerodynamic surfaces.

"We have spent our tokens, but we won't reveal how we used them just yet. That'll become clear in good time." - James Allison

But I don't think that includes suspension geometry, because that is directly connected to the chassis and that does require tokens to change. My best guess he is talking about suspension components?

That makes sense

[PowerandtheGlory]

I was surprised when James Allison said that suspension work was token free during the Mercedes car launch, I didn’t think it was, so got me wondering if McLaren did anything significant in that area.


"In addition, there are some parts of the car that you can change token-free, for example the power unit, the cooling systems, the suspension and of course all of the aerodynamic surfaces.

"We have spent our tokens, but we won't reveal how we used them just yet. That'll become clear in good time." - James Allison

But I don't think that includes suspension geometry, because that is directly connected to the chassis and that does require tokens to change. My best guess he is talking about suspension components?

That makes sense

The tokens spent by teams typically are for chassis changes- mounting point, suspension pickups, gearbox casings etc.. anything that needs homologation. I heard that AMR did spend tokens on a new chassis, because the merc suspension was a free upgrade. Mclaren must have had to do something to incorporare the new PU, id be amazed if they got away without needing to do something to the chassis- but they are clever down there.. AT also got a free RB upgrade so they have spent elsewhere.. HAAS confirmed they used no tokens at all, and the haas design team spend the whole winter on Dorknite.

[M840TR]

yes they can

The contours are dictated by the cooling package which can't be altered without a token.

[onewingedangel]

I'd expect the launch packaging is deliberately conservative to ensure they get as much running in testing as possible without overheating or interfering with the PU.

[sticktion]

Most of the cooling system is still free to change, and won't be homologated until R1-2021. They're definitely free to keep refining things.

Does anyone know if McLaren did any work on the suspension, front or/and rear?

Most probably some changes to Rear Suspension due to gearbox change... Should be limited due to tokens...

Not for McLaren, since they were excluded from the token system (22.7.6 in the tech regs.) Instead they got to alter a ton of areas concurrently, provided the changes were "minimum necessary".


The rear suspension arms are still free to change (which is what Allison's referring to, yeah), while the Gearbox Carrier and Inboard Rear Suspension cost 2 tokens each.

Red Bull managed new rear geometry by buying a new GC, relocating the old IRS bits to the new GC pickups, then designing new arms to match.

McLaren definitely had to redesign their GC for the new PU, so it's plausible they slipped in some subtle geometry changes the FIA couldn't object to...

[zxof]

I just realised mclaren changed their design/airflow "philosophy" from slim to chunky top PU cover between MCL33 to MCL34 so I think they're on different philosophy compared to Mercedes.

[Mansell89]

Any thoughts on the MCL packaging now we’ve seen the other Mercedes powered cars?

Is it the lighting and our paint that hides the “bulge” or is it simply that Merc and Aston have gone tighter than McLaren and Williams?

[101FlyingDutchman]

They’ve gone tighter but I think the effect of having slightly tighter bodywork is being overstated. It helps of course but where the winners and losers are going to be, this will decide not. Sound like Yoda there. The 10% floor cut out is WAAAAY more critical.
1) can they claw the lost performance back and can they balance front and back downforce levels efficiently and predictably
2) effective floor sealing due cutout
3) diffuser performance in conjunction with side pod philosophy
4) smaller strakes in the diffuser which makes it harder for higher raked cars to expand, control and lower air pressure.
5) bargeboard ability to manage tire wake outward
6) ride kinematics slow speed
7) front wing downforce whilst still able to generate outwash at the tips to manage wake

[trinidefender]

Any thoughts on the MCL packaging now we’ve seen the other Mercedes powered cars?

Is it the lighting and our paint that hides the “bulge” or is it simply that Merc and Aston have gone tighter than McLaren and Williams?

McLaren seem to have more high up centerline cooling than Merc and definitely more than Aston Martin. That's why McLaren have been able to get such small sidepods. The bodywork around the centerline cooling will fit around the bulge that the other two teams have.

I don't think it's anything to worry about, just a trade-off that McLaren decided to make between sidepod size and centerline cooling size.

[FittingMechanics]

McLaren seem to have more high up centerline cooling than Merc and definitely more than Aston Martin. That's why McLaren have been able to get such small sidepods. The bodywork around the centerline cooling will fit around the bulge that the other two teams have.

I don't think it's anything to worry about, just a trade-off that McLaren decided to make between sidepod size and centerline cooling size.

If you look at Alpine and their huge airbox it is likely that part of that direction carries over to McLaren. Lot of centerline cooling which means the bulge is not visible.

BTW I am disappointed there were no overlays of McLaren compared to Aston Martin or Mercedes.