SmallSoldier wrote: ↑29 Jun 2021, 22:36
mwillems wrote:the EDGE wrote: ↑29 Jun 2021, 20:25
I assume McLaren suffer the same de-rates as Merc so this will help, but I doubt a game changer
McLaren also said that although they are hard at work on next years car they would continue to develop the 35m as long as a clear path to worthwhile gains was evident, but wouldn’t be chasing anything negligible
Key also spoke of developments to come to the floor when the last spec was introduced, I hope they are seeing this trough as I’m sure the gains are there
Something I was wondering about was what Lando said on Sunday about rear tyre deg being the difference between them and the big 2 teams
It strikes me they also have better straight line speed than the big 2, would running more rear wing not give them better tyre life at the expense of top speed?
That is typically what RB and Merc have done. Merc were never a team to chase speed traps, but I think that this choice becomes more viable when you aerodynamic efficiency improves.
The most efficient downforce at the rear is obviously from the floor, as you will know, and in turn Mclaren have a disadvantage this year, in that they were not able to repackage the engine in the optimal way which means the car is a little more draggy, and that there won't be as much airflow to the back of the car to help energise the diffuser.
You'd have to think that if they had been able to optimally package that car, they would be several tenths faster, which means they would be close to the top 3. Both through a less draggy form and because more air passing over the diffuser will suck the air out and increase downforce.
Of course, the rears still need to get into the optimal operating window for temps. Sometimes too much grip can prevent this, and counter intuitively, reduce life. I'd hate to be a formula 1 designer, it's life on a knife edge.
I’m sure they were compromises made to get the Merc PU installed in the MCL35M… I’m not that sure if it would be worth several tenths.
Looking at the MCL35M, it is definitely more compact (slimmer) than the MCL35… I have no way of knowing better, but I do believe that the difference in downforce isn’t just related to how much more compact the rear end could have been, but it’s elsewhere… With the biggest factor probably in the front and middle of the car (bargeboard area) where both Red Bull and Mercedes seemed to have a more developed concept (interesting to note that for example, both Red Bull and Mercedes use a different concept of front wing compared to the rest of the field)… There are also some developments in which the team seems to be a bit behind, like the winglets added a top the cockpit behind the front suspension (a solution that was first introduced by Red Bull a couple of seasons ago and that most of the grid adopted last season, with the exception of Mclaren), the “Venetian blinds” on the side deflectors (also introduced several season ago by Haas and adopted rather quickly by the likes of Red Bull)… Even the Z-Shape cut on the floors was a late introduction compared to the rest of the field.
Mclaren may have one of the slimmest bodywork at the rear of the car this season, so the engine integration doesn’t seem to have been way off… Gains from more freedom? Absolutely… How much they are worth? No clue… But in my opinion it isn’t where the car handicap resides… The team also seems to be a bit behind in regards to their suspension kinematics, reason why the likes of Ferrari, RBR, Merc are generally faster in the slow corners, where Downforce isn’t that big of a factor.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
The changes that Mclaren would have loved to be able to make were those that Racing Point introduced in the middle of last year. That would be the streamlined and ramped sidepods with a narrower engine cover. That change was like strapping a rocket onto their car, and so that is why I say several tenths. But when I say that I am conscious that some people see several as a higher number, I imagine 3 tenths in that alone. The lack of bulge on the Mclaren is a demonstrator of how much wider the car is on the engine cover. That bulge is not small on the Merc, it's nearly 2 inches sticking out, so the Mclaren could definitely have another diet if it wanted to.
So I simply base my numbers on the fact that we could make the same change as RP last year, which in itself is worth a few tenths, and that this years Merc engine allows for much tighter packaging too, which we could not take advantage of the way other teams could. So together I'd imagine there's a wedge of time there.
But yes, you are right, it isn't our only difference, the chassis is not great in slow corners. But I do think that those two changes would pull us away from Ferrari and towards the front two, occasionally being in a battle at the front.
But then other teams were also handicapped over the winter so in the end it all balances out.
And what I take from that is that despite the restrictions on how we could take advantage of the Merc engine, and that there is obvious time on the table, that the car the team produced is still a great car.
Another positive is that these packaging changes can carry over to next year, so we know there is time to be gained from this to next before we have even seen the car race. With the floor taking a leap in importance next year, the ability pick low hanging fruit to get more airflow to the rear is invaluable.
