MCL40 - Floorboard
1. First a quick mention of the FWDP. The down washing orientation is clear to see here. Viewed from the front, the roll up would rotate in a clockwise direction, used to manage the mid front tyre wake. Pulling the lower portion of it outboard.
2. Notes the lower 2 sections of the floorboard. Initially, almost in a purely outwashing orientation. Represented by the dashed square in side view. Aft of that, they twist into an upwashing position, closer to what we've seen on the majority of cars. The uppermost part looks like a standard in washing shape, like the rules intended.
3. Shows the triple slotted rear corner floor edge. You can also see the floor flick up just inboard of it.
4. Highlights the diffuser corner optimization. This sacrifices diffuser volume for better lateral expansion.
5. Interestingly, they do not use the lower caketin deflector. The upwashing arrangement you see there is the diffuser winglet. Neither do they utilize the diffuser cutouts.
MCL40 sidepod -
1. Highlights the full-length downwash bodywork we've become so used to seeing. They are using not diffuser cutout, which makes total sense as to why they don't have the g-line undercutting back as aggressively as the W17/SF-26.
2. Shows the serrated sharkfin similar to the SF-26.
source: @brakeboosted
MCLL40 front end -
1. Shows the cranked front wing. The trend of McLaren running front wings with a notably larger frontal area continues from the previous regulation cycle. We can also see contouring of the FWEP with outwashing geometry, indicating alignment with the broader design consensus across the grid.
2. Locates the static flap adjuster in the nose, aligning with the RB22 and W17 with no outboard adjusters. We can also see how much further rearward the actuator is packaged compared to the formerly mentioned teams.
3. Notes the switch to a push-rod front suspension. This change aligns with the broader grid-wide trend, with 7/9 teams revealed using push rod front. Indicating that clear aerodynamic motivations behind the switch.
4. Notes the orientation of the front wing diveplane. It looks to be in a slight downwashing orientation toward the tip. I believe this is just to control the direction of rotation of the tip vortex. It also means this element might potentially be generating some lift.
5. Notes the comparatively large front brake ducts compared to what we've seen from rival teams.
6. Highlights the very high central nose section aft of the front wing, akin to the W17 nose design. I've tried to guess what the cross-section would look like at that point, but we'd need better angles to judge it more definitively
MCL40 Isometric view.
1. Shows the cranked outboard section of the front wing. Its seems that they have biased the combined chord length distribution toward the movable elements. Meaning they'll shed a larger portion of the localized drag depending on how much the incidence reduces when activated.
2. Locates the SLM actuator linkage. It joins the 3rd element at the trailing edge. Like the SF-26, the FW will rotate through the central section as well. Some other teams, like the Mercedes has the central area that does not move with the front wing flaps.
3. Highlights the floor leading edge devices. They look to have reasonable height to them which means the floor LE has to be quite thin as the reg volumes do intersect. However, the nose slightly obscures the view so we'll require better angles.
4. Shows the FW pylons mount at the trailing edge of the main plane.
5. Notes the slightly different interpretation of the section rules in the floorboard. It is indiscernible from this photo, but we can already tell they are doing something different. Reminder that teams can have up to 3 sections in any X, Y or Z plane in the floorboard.
6. Roll hoop intake is a carry-over design from he MCL39.
Source: @brakeboosted
