2017 Mclaren F1 Team - Honda

[etusch]

My main concern is still reliability. İf 0.2-0.3 gain could be realised during race they must race for point in mid Group and after second part of update they must be behind RBR. This my expectation.
I think PU will be better tuned than bakü at A1.

[diffuser]

So Boullier states that the update is good for a "little bit more" than 20 hp, assuming they're down ~90hp when the season started, if the update is 30 then they'll have essentially halved their engine deficit including their Barcelona update which was good for ~10kW, provided of course the other engines haven't improved. I really hope the update helps them get closer to the front instead of just further ahead of Sauber.

Hasegawa said that this was just the beginning, that more power could be drawn from that NEW spec. Lets hope that this will be enough to push them to just behind RBR(to the top of the midfield).

I'm WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY overdue for some good news here.

[SameSame]

Austria is quite a power sensitive track. I do not expect McLaren to be ahead of Force India and Williams.

Let's wait for Silverstone and Hungary to see where they stand.

[godlameroso]

Is it really? What gives a bigger gain? .3 on the straights or .5 in the curves?

In the v10 era it was a high downforce track.

[SameSame]

Is it really? What gives a bigger gain? .3 on the straights or .5 in the curves?

In the v10 era it was a high downforce track.

Remi Taffin, Renault Engine Technical Director

“It is quite a power sensitive track and it probably will be in line with Baku in terms of performance expectations. We will consolidate the power improvement made for Baku and aim to deliver more. There is no big plan with brand new upgrades, just continual improvement of the entire package. The altitude of the track will be a challenge as the turbo will spin faster to generate the required induction, so that’s something we’ll monitor. Experiencing a trouble-free weekend will bring points.”

I'll take Taffin's word for it

Also; this could be the true test of the new MGU-H/Turbo with the higher altitude as Taffin points out.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/head ... uotes.html

[etusch]

Austria is quite a power sensitive track. I do not expect McLaren to be ahead of Force India and Williams.

Let's wait for Silverstone and Hungary to see where they stand.

Canada also power sensitive and Mercedes couldn't overtake redbul. At more power sensitive bakü we saw RBR as winner. I don't deny power side but fi and Williams can not be good with just power. Of course we don't expect McLaren 4 fastest with this update. If we see improvement and competitiveness it is ok for us and long straights show us what we want to see.

[Alonso Fan]

Is it really? What gives a bigger gain? .3 on the straights or .5 in the curves?

In the v10 era it was a high downforce track.

Remi Taffin, Renault Engine Technical Director

“It is quite a power sensitive track and it probably will be in line with Baku in terms of performance expectations. We will consolidate the power improvement made for Baku and aim to deliver more. There is no big plan with brand new upgrades, just continual improvement of the entire package. The altitude of the track will be a challenge as the turbo will spin faster to generate the required induction, so that’s something we’ll monitor. Experiencing a trouble-free weekend will bring points.”

I'll take Taffin's word for it

Also; this could be the true test of the new MGU-H/Turbo with the higher altitude as Taffin points out.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/head ... uotes.html

It has been one of the better tracks for McLaren over the last two years though

[SameSame]

I think it's been good to them because of their good braking stability over the past two seasons and the fact that its such a short lap. They don't have to worry much about "compound mode" in qualifying when they can use 33s of energy on a 95s lap.

[SameSame]

Austria is quite a power sensitive track. I do not expect McLaren to be ahead of Force India and Williams.

Let's wait for Silverstone and Hungary to see where they stand.

Canada also power sensitive and Mercedes couldn't overtake redbul. At more power sensitive bakü we saw RBR as winner. I don't deny power side but fi and Williams can not be good with just power. Of course we don't expect McLaren 4 fastest with this update. If we see improvement and competitiveness it is ok for us and long straights show us what we want to see.

Let's be real about Red Bull winning in Baku. That was a freak race.

Ricciardo was 35 seconds off Hamilton in Canada.

I agree, any improvement will be encouraging. Personally, I'm hoping for changeable weather to really give them a chance at something special [-o<

[diffuser]

High downforce and power tracks are NOT mutually exclusive...meaning it could be both.

[Chicane]

A track like Silverstone requires both engine performance and aerodynamic downforce. It had 66 percent full throttle requirement last year which will only increase with new regulations. Silverstone is a long lap and is severe in terms of fuel consumption as well. In a nutshell a good overall package which includes good aero performance and good engine performance is necessary in Silverstone.

Even Suzuka requires good direction changing ability and downforce but it also requires good engine performance as it features long stretches of full throttle. As mentioned above high downforce requirements and engine performance aren't mutually exclusive.

Mclaren have done decently in Austria because of good braking stability, good traction out of turns 2 and 3, good aerodynamic efficiency and the ERS demands aren't massive on a short lap even though it is a challenge to extract 2mj under braking via MGU-K as there are only 2 braking zones in turn 2 and turn 3 with turn one being a 90 degree 4th gear bend providing some regeneration opportunity.

All the tracks on the calendar bar Monaco, Hungary and Singapore require one thing in common which is good engine performance but they also have additional requirements like traction, downforce, braking stability, responsiveness to directional changes, ability to ride bumps etc based on the layout.

[godlameroso]

3 heavy braking zones, turn 1 turn 2 and turn 3 all have cars decelerating from 300kph or more. The final turn has some breaking but not enough to harvest any meaningful energy, the rest you barely touch the brakes.

[RS200E]

The only Merc engines Mclaren will have at testing this year will be the ones in the trucks used to bring the team to the track.

Mclaren might have worked on B chassis to acomodate Mercedes PU since winter testing...who knows.

There is no good reason to build a chassis to fit the Mercedes engine... and there is no reason to test a Mercedes engine in the chassis. Short memories...

A new chassis would be no problem to build. It would only require some modifications. Although I'm sure some people will think of it as a complete redesign.

[ZakB]

I expect that McLaren will be quite strong in quali, but they will drop places in the race.

[PlatinumZealot]

A new chassis can take six months lead time. i think you mean modifying the chassis. Yes one can modify the chassis. But even this is unnecessary!
There is a very simple reason why.

Think about it.. What would be the point of testing a Mercedes engine mid season? Why?

There is no point to it. It is a waste of money because the Mercedes engine is already proven! It is a known quantity.

Any good engineer would not waste time testing an engine that is already proven with thousands of km under its belt. And it would be pointless to test the chassis along with the engine. You won't learn anything whatsoever. Wait till 2018 and mate your new chassis with the new 2018 engine.