Mclaren Cheating !!??

[johny]

that gif is not clear, if you focus on Premiere logo it moves a lot, best take an onboard video and you'll see it

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1y983 ... ndo-alonso

[siskue2005]

Yes it does flex - you can see it pretty clearly in the gif.

Why not kindly post that gif here?

here is that pic again

http://www.supload.us/free/mclaren(mh).gif/view/

http://www.supload.us/free/mclaren(mh)3.gif/view/

http://www.supload.us/free/mclaren(mh)2.gif/view/

PS: If u cannot see the pic
copy paste the above link, And press and hold Shift key while you press refresh Key!

And the video > this is more high quality than the youtube videos http://rapidshare.com/files/30809876/Fo ... nboard.rar

[s91066]

I don't get it. What's the point in making it flex while it doesn't generate much less drag. The mid part is very narrow and the angle.... c'mon...

what does it change?

Think about it as a second defuser...

Would you please kindly explain that?

All biplane front wings try to emulate the difurer's behavior, only for the front part of the car. I cannot explain it more, because I do not know how excactly the do that, but that's the information I have from a team's aerodynamist. Sorry...

[modbaraban]

And the video > this is more high quality than the youtube videos http://rapidshare.com/files/30809876/Fo ... nboard.rar

thanx very much! It's ABSOLUTELY OBVIOUS here.

[Rob W]

...In McLaren's wing - the main plane does not APPEAR to flex, but the middle part of the new "bridge" seems to dip under load.

I saved the initial clip and opened it into photoshop and compared the position of the wing end-plates (in each frame relative to the level of the aerial).... and it looks more like the wing end-plates are moving down - not just the new upper element. Only a slight flex would need to happen - and an amount which might be well within rule tolerances.

We should consider also that without the top of the nose being there for a visual reference of the position of the new 'bridge' there would be no noticeable flex - minor front wing flex is surely common on all teams which is why teams don't complain about others all the time.


Rob W

[checkered]

As I understand

it, there has been some criticism towards the wing from the competition and this will likely lead to a rather quick revision of the FIA rules and tests that are applied accordingly. Just as happened with the flexing floor issue recently.

The new regulations, if the FIA has indeed decided to go down that route, will be ready for the Montreal GP at the earliest. Thus Macca can continue with their current configuration at Monaco, where such a high DF configuration could prove a very important factor.

How they will revise their design thereafter remains to be seen.

[mini696]

Yes it flexes, but only as much as every other wing out there...

It looks like it moves a lot, but remember the 'plane' (the top of the nose)which you are referring to is well behind the 'uni-brow' wing. This causes an optical illusion to make it seem like the wing is moving more than it is.

[pRo]

I'm not sure if this is widely used or am I just crazier than the rest...but put a vertical see-through tape on the TV and mark lines on it at appropriate intervals. That way it's very easy to see flexy stuff from onboard cameras.

Like most have already said, the McLarens wing clearly flexes, but is probably within the rules. Every team has flexy stuff, even if it's supposed to be completely banned. They all flex and about the same amount too.

[Fan Solo]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/58815

So funnily enough the FIA are fine with the bridge wing....

Re the flexing, I defy anyone who thinks that a bit of bodywork stuck on the front of a highly developed F1 car exposed to 200mph winds wont move a little.

If your whole wing tips back / changes shape then flex is an issue, this is just not the case here.

Within parameters I believe is the term. Fwiw, my theory on the wing is that it splits or conditions the air before it hits the suspension / steering arms to reduce drag.

[ginsu]

Yeah, I think it's a joke that the FIA don't care about this, and yet they went out of their way to define the Renault tunable mass damper as a 'moveable aerodynamic device'.

Obviously, if a part is flexing significantly by natural aerodynamic forces then it's moving into a position where it's at a lower resistance, thus lowering the drag penalty of the device. There's obviously a benefit to a flexy part like this.

[Rob W]

Yeah, I think it's a joke that the FIA don't care about this, and yet they went out of their way to define the Renault tunable mass damper as a 'moveable aerodynamic device'.

Obviously, if a part is flexing significantly by natural aerodynamic forces then it's moving...

As I said above, I'm not so sure it's flexing. It moves down, yes, but from a closer look it seems to do this because the ends of the main front wing (which it's attached to) bend down slightly under high speed like they do on every other team also.

Rob W

[DaveKillens]

From my perspective, it appears the top of the bridge flexes upwards. maybe a bit backwards too, but that's speculation. But from my reading of the rules, downward flex is not allowed. So at this moment in time, flexing upwards slightly is a circumvention of the rules. Not technically illegal, but once again, an application within the grey areas of the regulations.
"Cheating" is such a harsh word, it implies immoral conduct. This is hard to define as such, because McLaren unveiled this front wing bridge a week before a race, which gives everyone plenty of time to react. If it had been definitely illegal, the FIA people would have made an easy jugement, and told Mclaren to remove it. But just like writing a letter asking for clarification on splitters, McLaren is exploring just how far they can go, and in what direction before the FIA moves in and bans it.

[Spencifer_Murphy]

Obviously the part has met FIA tests to strictly speaking its legal. But if its flexing induces some sort of aerodynamic stall or loss of drag at high speed then its against the spirit of the rules.

However, are we sure that this is whats happening. From what I can see the WHOLE front wing is moving downwards at high speed (due to the downforce it generates I guess), but there doesn't seem top be any flexing at all allong its lateral axis (such that it levels off reducing drag & downforce). Which is what people complained about when Ferrari's wing was flexing at Sepang last year.

From what I can see it doesn't seem to be illegal or against the spirit of the rules at all. Its flexing downward, but only downward, and only due to aerodynamic load, and its the whole wing assembly, not just the new element.

But thats just my perception of it from the gif image.

[DaveKillens]

Apparently some teams have expressed concern, and the FIA investigated. Tests were conducted, and for now, it is considered legal.
http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3 ... 64,00.html
This is not the first (nor will it be the last) time a team has stepped outside the spirit of the rules, yet remained technically legal. But then again, and I hate to say this, but maybe to really be at the very top, you have to do this kind of thing.

[ginsu]

I think the problem is that all aerodynamic parts flex or move to some extent when the aerodynamic load is applied. For the FIA to say that a certain amount of movement of flexibility is OK and more than that is bad, it's just stupid and arbitrary. They should either ban all movement, or just let the aero guys have a free for all.

I definitely think there should be an aero free for all, I can just imagine how many cool aero devices we would see on an F1 car, it'd be heaven!