McLaren MCL35

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SmallSoldier
SmallSoldier
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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Emag
Emag
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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charliesmithhd wrote:
13 Feb 2020, 18:07
https://i.imgur.com/EUqhj7W.jpg
comparison with spanish upgrade mcl34
Look how much bigger the inlet was last year. Even though this year's inlet is a little wider, it seems like a calculated compromise. The sidepod sits a little higher this year, because as PhilipM mentioned, they are trying to use that undercut below to get a lot more air around the sidepods to the rear of the car instead of making it travel from the top. By having a smaller inlet, a lot more air is going to hit that undercut below, which will then be manipulated to go all the way to the rear-end.

The new suspension of the MCL-35 is something they trialed last year, however the design of the "test subject" last year is so crude compared to the finished product (You can see it here: https://prnt.sc/r1vl7e). I was expecting changes in the front suspension, and they have done that.

Also the way the suspension arms connect to the chassis is a little different now. From a side-view picture you can see that they are trying to use the suspension arms to direct the airflow to the bargeboards. Last year, the suspension arms were quite straight in comparison. (See here: https://prnt.sc/r1vn4r)

People seem to be disappointed that the bargeboards look the same as last year. I really don't see why they would change them. McLaren had great rear-end stability last year evidently shown by their performance in high speed corners (e.g : Suzuka, USA etc...). The bargeboards clean up the airflow to the rear of the car and they work closely with the Front-Wing. Considering they haven't changed their front-wing philosophy this year, I can't see why they would change the bargeboards. They can still update those during the season, and if the car is competitive early on, then that would be great news since it means there will be more margin for improvement.

I know Ferrari also kept the same front-wing philosophy this season, yet they changed the bargeboards a bit. But please look carefully, apart from the boomerangs the Ferrari bargeboard hasn't changed much. In fact in terms of concept and shape they are exactly the same. Just because you see more slot gaps and cut-outs in their bargeboards doesn't necessarily mean they are that much better (Look at Haas's bargeboards from last year, they looked crazy but we all know Haas's story in 2019). Besides, even RedBull has barely (if at all) changed their bargeboards this year, but nobody is giving RedBull any crap because the car is designed by Newey.

Everything you see on this car, has been carefully studied and evaluated by experts. They don't just choose to randomly change something because they like the look of it. Everything is changed to make the car go faster. How much faster this car will be from its predecessor, that we don't know yet. I really hope another step forward has been taken, but to be honest all I want from them this year is to get 4th again. Can't realistically see them fighting for anything more and with the major regulation overhaul coming next season, I don't want them to waste too much time this year chasing perfection.
Last edited by Emag on 13 Feb 2020, 18:35, edited 1 time in total.

Ground Effect
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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From the article, the author(s) expect that there’ll be an S-duct come testing.
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.

M840TR
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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SmallSoldier wrote:
13 Feb 2020, 18:23
Even though is of course an evolution over the MCL34, I believe it has enough changes to be considered a new concept for Mclaren.

The new nose manages airflow differently than it did in previous cars and that’s key to how the air gets to center part of the bargeboards... The Sidepods are a big change, not in terms of size, but also how they are shape to promote air towards the coke region which in itself is tighter than previous year.

The only area that doesn’t seem to be massively different at this point is the bargeboard area, but we probably haven’t seeing the finish product and they may be saving that for testing.

It does look (to me) as a very different car than the MCL34


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I think the front suspension changes have gone under the radar as well. The wishbones are much thinner, mount much higher and are more horizontal. It's usually such implicit treatment which brings the greatest result. I also think they just installed the 34's diffuser & floor for the launch and we might get to the the real stuff in Barcelona.

SmallSoldier
SmallSoldier
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Joined: 10 Mar 2019, 03:54

Re: McLaren MCL35

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Emag wrote:
charliesmithhd wrote:
13 Feb 2020, 18:07
https://i.imgur.com/EUqhj7W.jpg
comparison with spanish upgrade mcl34
Look how much bigger the inlet was last year. Even though this year's inlet is a little wider, it seems like a calculated compromise. The sidepod sits a little higher this year, because as PhilipM mentioned, they are trying to use that undercut below to get a lot more air around the sidepods to the rear of the car instead of making it travel from the top. By having a smaller inlet, a lot more air is going to hit that undercut below, which will then be manipulated to go all the way to the rear-end.

The new suspension of the MCL-35 is something they trialed last year, however the design of the "test subject" last year is so crude compared to the finished product (You can see it here: https://prnt.sc/r1vl7e). I was expecting changes in the front suspension, and they have done that.

Also the way the suspension arms connect to the chassis is a little different now. From a side-view picture you can see that they are trying to use the suspension arms to direct the airflow to the bargeboards. Last year, the suspension arms were quite straight in comparison. (See here: https://prnt.sc/r1vn4r)

People seem to be disappointed that the bargeboards look the same as last year. I really don't see why they would change them. McLaren had great rear-end stability last year evidently shown by their performance in high speed corners (e.g : Suzuka, USA etc...). The bargeboards clean up the airflow to the rear of the car and they work closely with the Front-Wing. Considering they haven't changed their front-wing philosophy this year, I can't see why they would change the bargeboards. They can still update those during the season, and if the car is competitive early on, then that would be great news since it means there will be more margin for improvement.

I know Ferrari also kept the same front-wing philosophy this season, yet they changed the bargeboards a bit. But please look carefully, apart from the boomerangs the Ferrari bargeboard hasn't changed much. In fact in terms of concept and shape they are exactly the same. Just because you see more slot gaps and cut-outs in their bargeboards doesn't necessarily mean they are that much better (Look at Haas's bargeboards from last year, they looked crazy but we all know Haas's story in 2019). Besides, even RedBull has barely (if at all) changed their bargeboards this year, but nobody is giving RedBull any crap because the car is designed by Newey.

Everything you see on this car, has been carefully studied and evaluated by experts. They don't just choose to randomly change something because they like the look of it. Everything is changed to make the car go faster. How much faster this car will be from its predecessor, that we don't know yet. I really hope another step forward has been taken, but to be honest all I want from them this year is to get 4th again. Can't realistically see them fighting for anything more and with the major regulation overhaul coming next season, I don't want them to waste too much time this year chasing perfection.
I have to agree with everything you said... The proof is in the lap times and like you, I’m sure most of the changes made are too make the car faster... How much faster? We will find out soon!


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SmallSoldier
SmallSoldier
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) always keen on spotting the details and differences... Details on the changes to the nose cone.

Image

Image


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SmallSoldier
SmallSoldier
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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M840TR wrote:
SmallSoldier wrote:
13 Feb 2020, 18:23
Even though is of course an evolution over the MCL34, I believe it has enough changes to be considered a new concept for Mclaren.

The new nose manages airflow differently than it did in previous cars and that’s key to how the air gets to center part of the bargeboards... The Sidepods are a big change, not in terms of size, but also how they are shape to promote air towards the coke region which in itself is tighter than previous year.

The only area that doesn’t seem to be massively different at this point is the bargeboard area, but we probably haven’t seeing the finish product and they may be saving that for testing.

It does look (to me) as a very different car than the MCL34


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I think the front suspension changes have gone under the radar as well. The wishbones are much thinner, mount much higher and are more horizontal. It's usually such implicit treatment which brings the greatest result. I also think they just installed the 34's diffuser & floor for the launch and we might get to the the real stuff in Barcelona.
Yes, the front suspension geometry seems to have changed (and we will probably find at testing if they have also changed things under the skin)... Was hoping to find some good pictures of the rear to spot any changes to the rear suspension.


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Emag
Emag
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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https://prnt.sc/r1w4yu

The rear suspension follows the same concept as in the last two years, however it looks a little more refined this season.

Emag
Emag
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Joined: 11 Feb 2019, 14:56

Re: McLaren MCL35

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Image

It seems like the bargeboards at the car in the live presentation had some details that I can't spot on the renders.

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Holm86
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Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Re: McLaren MCL35

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People who say nothing's changed, and it looks the same as last year, doesn't have a clue of how much tiny details mean in formula 1.
When you look at the details, lots have changed, and been optimized.
And this is press photos, even more details will be seen during testing and the first GP.

Sanchit f1fan
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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James key in an Interview Says That Lots of Conceptual Changes have been made to front and Rear Suspension To Unlock Greater Performance

trinidefender
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Joined: 19 Apr 2013, 20:37

Re: McLaren MCL35

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Sanchit f1fan wrote:
13 Feb 2020, 19:32
James key in an Interview Says That Lots of Conceptual Changes have been made to front and Rear Suspension To Unlock Greater Performance
Source?

Lucky
Lucky
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Joined: 15 Feb 2014, 09:23

Re: McLaren MCL35

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trinidefender wrote:
13 Feb 2020, 19:34
Sanchit f1fan wrote:
13 Feb 2020, 19:32
James key in an Interview Says That Lots of Conceptual Changes have been made to front and Rear Suspension To Unlock Greater Performance
Source?
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mcla ... 5/4684763/

f1rules
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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last post on this but compared to ferrari and rb i just think it look a bit bulky, all the way down the center line, rb sidepods tappers down faster, ends closer to the floor and is closer to the centerline, same with ferrari. Im not saying its the only way, im not saying the mcl35 is slow. I know most add ons like bargeboards etc will be replaced, so im not talking about the car needing complexity or anything like that, but from a stripped down airbox, sidepod, packaging, hotair outlet point of view, to my armchair eyes it lacks a bit, also i was hoping to see pou, and i hope they solved the lack of frontend even going more agressive on front suspension atachment points.
Edit
From sidepod inlet its completely on rb and fer level, only difference is ferrari manages to keep a very slim airbox inlet and still slim down the engine cover insanely as opposed to rb and mcl

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Last edited by f1rules on 13 Feb 2020, 19:50, edited 3 times in total.

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Morteza
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Re: McLaren MCL35

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"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."~William Shakespeare