2016 McLaren F1 Team - Honda

[Alonso Fan]

That middle sector from button was awesome. Proves once again that the chassis is not as bad as some people claim, and also proves that Honda is still the main problem, but they're working on it and the improvements are showing

Edit: Has anyone got a comparison video of the new sound? I was trying to listen when button went out for his q3 run but its hard to hear due to the commentary

[techman]

mclaren running more downforce , button said it post qualy, its not suprising but to be honest low df is the way to go in spa

[Sayeman]

Button - "It's no secret we're running a little bit more downforce than some others. Our consistency is good over a long run. We'll see, hopefully tomorrow we'll have a reasonable race."

The top speed looks even more impresive now

[godlameroso]

Tire wear could play into McLaren's hands tomorrow, as more downforce will keep the car from sliding too much.

[nevill3]

I agree, higher downforce could help with tyre life and allow Button to run a two stop race

[Sonador]

mclaren running more downforce , button said it post qualy, its not suprising but to be honest low df is the way to go in spa

They are running more downforce to make up time in the corners to compensate for the loss on the power bits of the track.

But i have to say, i am really impressed with Mclaren Honda today!
Onward and upwards, hopefully Alonso can stick with Lewis tommorow and have a fun race.
I need to see some fire in Alonso's eyes again ....

[Thunder]

If only they could get the reliability sorted somewhen.......

Ohh and Jost is in da House:

[mrluke]

mclaren running more downforce , button said it post qualy, its not suprising but to be honest low df is the way to go in spa

They are running more downforce to make up time in the corners to compensate for the loss on the power bits of the track.

But i have to say, i am really impressed with Mclaren Honda today!
Onward and upwards, hopefully Alonso can stick with Lewis tommorow and have a fun race.
I need to see some fire in Alonso's eyes again ....

Wait what.

Mclaren's high downforce setup is due to the under performing Honda engine........now I really have heard it all.

Mclaren are around 1 second behind red bull on the power tracks and much further behind on the non power tracks. Im expecting a similar good performance from Mclaren at Monza

Looking at the speed traps from Qualy, im going to compare Button against Vestappen.

The speed trap in sector 1, at the top of eau rouge:
But 309.7kmh (slowest car by 2/3kmh)
Ves 315.1kmh

Max speed in sector 1
But 336.8kmh
Ves 336.4kmh

Exactly the same as in Baku, Mclaren are losing time in the fast corners, their overall power / drag is about equal with RBR but their downforce levels are much lower to achieve that level of drag. Their downforce is not as efficient as the leaders.

They keep making statements about having this extra downforce to add on once Honda "up their game" but all of the teams are in that position, at the moment they are paying more in drag terms for the downforce they already have bolted to the car.

ps source for speed data http://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-o ... ormation-9

Chief of Engine design at Honda, Yusuke Hasegawa confirmed at the weekend that McLaren should top the speed traps this year saying “the car has more downforce this year, if McLaren had the same wing setting like the other teams, we would be top.” when asked by auto-motor-und-sport.de if their low speed trap speed was the engine or the car’s fault.

[Sonador]

Speed traps do not tell the whole story.

The car itself is maybe just as good/efficient as the PU is, they both need to improve, but they are doing just that.
All the talking stopped, and they just knuckeld down together.

The engine has come a long long way, from where it was last year, but it needs more power.
Just watch onboards up to eu rouge, you can hear the engine "struggling".

I believe that is why they compensate with higher downforce levels, to make up for it in the corners.
Just like RB is doing, only difference is te Renault PU is stronger, and de RB chassis is more efficient.

[davidfroshanzen]

gear ratio could also be the cause of why the McLaren Honda low at speed trap and fast at top speed. Who's know???

[techman]

They are running more downforce to make up time in the corners to compensate for the loss on the power bits of the track.

what a joke of a statement, i would not be suprised if they ran heavy donwforce in hungary or monaco, but it spa, a power cicruit, look at mercedes aner redbull extremley skinny wiings. then look at william and mclaren both opting for bigger rear wing. and both william and mclaren are not the strongest here, low df configuration is the best way to go in here. mcalren strategy is wrong. dont blame the engine, i wish honda were supplying another team like redbull or TR then you will see how overated the mclaren chassis is. it was bad when the mercedes engine was in its back in 2013 and 2014, so dont blame other when the fault could be with mclaren chassis setup. i hope it rains, then the downforce level mclaren are running will help. but i dont think it will rain;(

[gianluca.mateo]

mclaren running more downforce , button said it post qualy, its not suprising but to be honest low df is the way to go in spa

They are running more downforce to make up time in the corners to compensate for the loss on the power bits of the track.

But i have to say, i am really impressed with Mclaren Honda today!
Onward and upwards, hopefully Alonso can stick with Lewis tommorow and have a fun race.
I need to see some fire in Alonso's eyes again ....

Wait what.

Mclaren's high downforce setup is due to the under performing Honda engine........now I really have heard it all.

Mclaren are around 1 second behind red bull on the power tracks and much further behind on the non power tracks. Im expecting a similar good performance from Mclaren at Monza

Looking at the speed traps from Qualy, im going to compare Button against Vestappen.

The speed trap in sector 1, at the top of eau rouge:
But 309.7kmh (slowest car by 2/3kmh)
Ves 315.1kmh

Max speed in sector 1
But 336.8kmh
Ves 336.4kmh

Exactly the same as in Baku, Mclaren are losing time in the fast corners, their overall power / drag is about equal with RBR but their downforce levels are much lower to achieve that level of drag. Their downforce is not as efficient as the leaders.

They keep making statements about having this extra downforce to add on once Honda "up their game" but all of the teams are in that position, at the moment they are paying more in drag terms for the downforce they already have bolted to the car.

ps source for speed data http://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-o ... ormation-9

Chief of Engine design at Honda, Yusuke Hasegawa confirmed at the weekend that McLaren should top the speed traps this year saying “the car has more downforce this year, if McLaren had the same wing setting like the other teams, we would be top.” when asked by auto-motor-und-sport.de if their low speed trap speed was the engine or the car’s fault.

Wings are not the only factor to drag and downforce. The fact they are slow at the top of eau rouge confirms their lack of power, as all teams are full throttle through there. As they gain a lot of height in eau rouge, the main factor to speed becomes engine power, rather than drag or efficiency.

That they are at the same level of top speed at the end of the straight indicates either lower drag, slipstream condition, or a different engine map.

I don't get how people keep claiming the engine is comparable to the Renault, when even Honda keep saying they are quite a bit behind.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Sayeman]

I think the new PU is a decent improvement, shame it's not getting as much fanfare as the Renault update got. Honda seems to be wanting to update the PU as quietly as possible. I haven't heard much about what update they made to the PU.
As Boullier said, the faster the PU becomes the more downforce Mclaren will add to the car, so we might not see any improvement in top speed and such. But lets not blame Honda for the total gap to the front.
It amazes me how Redbull manages to stay in the front in a power hungry circuit with an engine that's so much down on Horsepower...Look at the works team. lel.
This whole Chassis vs PU argument will go on as long as Mclaren is the sole user of the PU.

[Sonador]

They are running more downforce to make up time in the corners to compensate for the loss on the power bits of the track.

what a joke of a statement, i would not be suprised if they ran heavy donwforce in hungary or monaco, but it spa, a power cicruit, look at mercedes aner redbull extremley skinny wiings. then look at william and mclaren both opting for bigger rear wing. and both william and mclaren are not the strongest here, low df configuration is the best way to go in here. mcalren strategy is wrong. dont blame the engine, i wish honda were supplying another team like redbull or TR then you will see how overated the mclaren chassis is. it was bad when the mercedes engine was in its back in 2013 and 2014, so dont blame other when the fault could be with mclaren chassis setup. i hope it rains, then the downforce level mclaren are running will help. but i dont think it will rain;(

I am not blaming Honda here, but i believe the stategy Mclaren has taken with the downforce levels is the right one.
They were P9 yesterday, that is a monumental achievement looking at the troubles they went to last year!!
I was rooting all the way for Mclaren and Button, and gutted for Alonso! So i think they did a good job.
And they have a better racing car than a qualifying car, so hoping for points today.

Look at last year they had even less power, they went with so little downforce they could do nothing to make up in the corners.
The PU this year has improved very much, so they can increase downforcelevels and make up time thru the corners.
I am not saying the chassis is the best, it needs just as much work as the PU does, they need to grow togheter.
But by running enough downforce to make up time in S2 of spa, they compensate for the fast bits.
That is the sector were Red Bull makes the difference, the only thing de RB has is that that chassis is very very efficiënt.


2013 was indeed a horrible chassis, in 2014 not, it was decent given the situation with Mercedes!
2014 was always going to be a hybrid year (pun intended) Merc did not want to give their sercrets to Honda.
Mclaren knew almost nothing of the engine when they designed that chassis.

I think 2013 was a huge mistake, from wich they have learned, and that resulted in a culture change within Mclaren.
2015 was painfull to watch as a fan, but this year, al the BS talks and the blamegame stopped.
And know they are working as a team, so for me they are on the right path to succes.

[Juzh]

gear ratio could also be the cause of why the McLaren Honda low at speed trap and fast at top speed.

No.