2021 Mclaren F1 Team

[mwillems]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmPsD7WYAA ... =4096x4096

Clear step forward from McLaren, the cornering grip is similar but top speed is improved.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmSRWdXIAI ... =4096x4096

Should Mercedes be worried?

McLaren vs Mercedes for the spare podium?

Hmmmm, dream on? hahaha It's good that our cornering grip is at least on a par with last year though.
I'm sure our top speed is improved though.

It would be nice to catch Merc, but if Merc have any underlying issues they will spend the time to fix them and power ahead I think, I also think that Merc typically show almost no speed at the tests and drive to a very conservative delta.

Do you have charts for Mclaren v Aston v Renault ?

[FittingMechanics]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmPsD7WYAA ... =4096x4096

Clear step forward from McLaren, the cornering grip is similar but top speed is improved.

Am I interpreting this correctly. On the start-finish straight, in testing McLaren was at least 10kmh slower than last year? I know part of it could be tow, but it definitely looks like they are hitting the limiter as the speed stabilizes on the 310 kph mark instead of rising like it did last year. It's extremely flat. This doesn't happen on any other straight so it's unlikely to be engine power. Only other reason could be ERS deployment but then again, it shouldn't happen all test long. Qualy laps should be in 320 kph mark easily. I am guessing that the gearing was insufficient or were top speed limited electronically.

Is McLaren able to change gearing? Do you see any other reason this might happen?

Also, it's great to see that MCL35M is able to run some corners much faster, for example right before T11 and T13 they are much faster than before. Car looks clearly faster than last year.

BTW is there a reason why Day 2 is not included?

[Niiek]

Or they just drove with an detuned engine. To me the graphics shown gave me a great feeling. The pace is really there, and I hope we can make the next step in catching Red Bull and ultimately Merc..

[Juzh]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmPsD7WYAA ... =4096x4096

Clear step forward from McLaren, the cornering grip is similar but top speed is improved.

Am I interpreting this correctly. On the start-finish straight, in testing McLaren was at least 10kmh slower than last year? I know part of it could be tow, but it definitely looks like they are hitting the limiter as the speed stabilizes on the 310 kph mark instead of rising like it did last year. It's extremely flat. This doesn't happen on any other straight so it's unlikely to be engine power. Only other reason could be ERS deployment but then again, it shouldn't happen all test long. Qualy laps should be in 320 kph mark easily. I am guessing that the gearing was insufficient or were top speed limited electronically.

Is McLaren able to change gearing? Do you see any other reason this might happen?

Also, it's great to see that MCL35M is able to run some corners much faster, for example right before T11 and T13 they are much faster than before. Car looks clearly faster than last year.

BTW is there a reason why Day 2 is not included?

Don't read too much into it, some data from day 1 where mclarens were hitting 330+ is missing from whatever reason, then on day 3 they were sandbagging, achieving only 310 kmh with drs open and this makes them look bad in this comparison. 310 kmh is a speed normally achieved in race running without drs, so this tells you just how much they were holding back in testing.

Mclaren is perfectly fine on straight line performance, if you check out start finish line and speed trap numbers they were consistently near the top:

start/finish line
300 RIC
299 RIC
299 RIC
299 RIC
299 GAS
299 GAS
299 NIS
298 RIC
298 RIC
298 RIC
298 NOR
298 NOR
298 NOR
298 GAS
298 GAS
298 VER
297 RIC
297 RIC
297 RIC
297 NOR
297 NOR
297 VET
297 VET
297 VET
297 VET
297 GAS
297 GAS
297 GAS
297 GAS

speed trap
330 NIS
329 RIC
329 RIC
329 VET
329 NIS
328 RIC
328 VET
328 VET
328 VET
328 GAS
328 NIS
328 VET
328 VET
328 VET
328 NIS
328 NIS
328 VET
328 RAI
327 GAS
327 VER
327 GAS
327 GAS
327 RIC
327 NOR
327 GAS
327 RIC
327 NOR
327 NIS
327 NIS

[Vasconia]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmPsD7WYAA ... =4096x4096

Clear step forward from McLaren, the cornering grip is similar but top speed is improved.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwmSRWdXIAI ... =4096x4096

Should Mercedes be worried?

McLaren vs Mercedes for the spare podium?

Obviously not, but Mclaren looks very, very strong so I think they will be a podium contender if one of the two top teams fails.

[koolway]

The goal of winter tests is not to be the fastest around the track they’re testing on, but validate developments and understanding how the car behave through settings changes.
Maybe on day 1 was they validated the gearbox ratios in regards to merc output.
And the following days they were focusing on validating other areas (ie: braking behavior on aero config, low speed corner entry/exit, high speed corner entry/exit,... on suspension & aero config A/B/C/...)

With that in mind, my general interpretation for winter testing is usually to trust the timesheets...
I know I just said what sound to be the opposite; but you can’t hide overall performance. Especially with only 300+ laps to understand a car, you can’t afford to waste half a lap just to hide.

Through the last few years, top/bottom of the timesheets during WT “zequals” top/bottom of the timesheets in races.

The issue imho is when you try to find peace of mind when your team is in the bottom and look at details to believe they’re better then what they ve shown. Or look at details for other teams to believe they’re not where they’re supposed to be.

My in depth analysis :
They finished 2nd-3rd-7th on day 1-2-3. Not a dominant position, but looking def stronger than last year.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[Lucky]

Seidl
https://www.rtl.de/cms/formel-1-mclaren ... 24748.html

[diffuser]

The goal of winter tests is not to be the fastest around the track they’re testing on, but validate developments and understanding how the car behave through settings changes.
Maybe on day 1 was they validated the gearbox ratios in regards to merc output.
And the following days they were focusing on validating other areas (ie: braking behavior on aero config, low speed corner entry/exit, high speed corner entry/exit,... on suspension & aero config A/B/C/...)

With that in mind, my general interpretation for winter testing is usually to trust the timesheets...
I know I just said what sound to be the opposite; but you can’t hide overall performance. Especially with only 300+ laps to understand a car, you can’t afford to waste half a lap just to hide.

Through the last few years, top/bottom of the timesheets during WT “zequals” top/bottom of the timesheets in races.

The issue imho is when you try to find peace of mind when your team is in the bottom and look at details to believe they’re better then what they ve shown. Or look at details for other teams to believe they’re not where they’re supposed to be.

My in depth analysis :
They finished 2nd-3rd-7th on day 1-2-3. Not a dominant position, but looking def stronger than last year.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

Like it's been said around here before, one need not look any further that Ferrari and 2020. The once bomb at testing was a dud in the season.

[JRindt]

"We would be very, very satisfied with a podium in the first race," said Seidl, referring to the Bahrain season opener.

Wow..! So, they’re aiming for podiums from the first race itself (at least that’s what I’m interpreting by reading between the lines).

[f1rules]

he says they hope to fight for the third spot again, merc and rb clearly in front and then he sees tauri, ferrari, alpine, aston mcl within 3tents, but he also has a big smile, i think they are more confident then this but we will know soon

Seidl
https://www.rtl.de/cms/formel-1-mclaren ... 24748.html

[FittingMechanics]

Don't read too much into it, some data from day 1 where mclarens were hitting 330+ is missing from whatever reason, then on day 3 they were sandbagging, achieving only 310 kmh with drs open and this makes them look bad in this comparison. 310 kmh is a speed normally achieved in race running without drs, so this tells you just how much they were holding back in testing.

Mclaren is perfectly fine on straight line performance, if you check out start finish line and speed trap numbers they were consistently near the top:

I'm not worried about it. It looked to me like they are limiting their top speed on purpose. You don't get that flat speed line on the start finish line if you are running normally. Either electronically or due to gearing. If you are correct that they used to hit 330 then it is obvious some type of electronic limitation. If it was drag and power it wouldn't be as flat as it is.

[koolway]

...

Like it's been said around here before, one need not look any further that Ferrari and 2020. The once bomb at testing was a dud in the season.

If we look at 2020 Ferrari was
7th/10
6th/13
13th/16
10th/19
1st/13
4th/14

Sorry but the general trend was in the mid-pack..
using day 5 as an argument for a killer machine falls within my “avoid trying to find comforting figures and generalizing them as an argument to rank a team where it’s not at”

[the EDGE]

[McG]

The goal of winter tests is not to be the fastest around the track they’re testing on, but validate developments and understanding how the car behave through settings changes.
Maybe on day 1 was they validated the gearbox ratios in regards to merc output.
And the following days they were focusing on validating other areas (ie: braking behavior on aero config, low speed corner entry/exit, high speed corner entry/exit,... on suspension & aero config A/B/C/...)

With that in mind, my general interpretation for winter testing is usually to trust the timesheets...
I know I just said what sound to be the opposite; but you can’t hide overall performance. Especially with only 300+ laps to understand a car, you can’t afford to waste half a lap just to hide.

Through the last few years, top/bottom of the timesheets during WT “zequals” top/bottom of the timesheets in races.

The issue imho is when you try to find peace of mind when your team is in the bottom and look at details to believe they’re better then what they ve shown. Or look at details for other teams to believe they’re not where they’re supposed to be.

My in depth analysis :
They finished 2nd-3rd-7th on day 1-2-3. Not a dominant position, but looking def stronger than last year.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

Genuine question... Have you ever watched testing? I mean really watched every second if it?

If you have then you will know that they not only sneakily sandbag, but they blatantly do it. They will purposefully stay in a lower gear on a straight, lift off, classic never running with light fuel load, low engine mode, used tyres. Add to that yes they are TESTING unknown parts. They can figure out where they are at by subtracting whatever combination of sandbag they choose at their discretion. This might also be controlled by the driver feeling like he doesn't want to show his/their hand.

With all that in mind and a long season ahead, it's pointless to try and figure it out. Not my idea of fun to come on a forum and bounce unknowns around like you know something.

[Herr_Koos]

Genuine question... Have you ever watched testing? I mean really watched every second if it?
If you have then you will know that they not only sneakily sandbag, but they blatantly do it. They will purposefully stay in a lower gear on a straight, lift off, classic never running with light fuel load, low engine mode, used tyres.

Interesting you should mention that... I watched a large chunk of the three test days, and I am pretty sure I saw the McLarens lifting off on the straight a good few times just before crossing the finish line. Whether this was to protect the engine, hide laptime, fudge top speed numbers, or any number of reasons, I don't know.