Mclaren MP4/19 Problems

[rodlamas]

This weekend Kimi Raikkonen claimed that he´s still not sure wheteher the MP4/19 is good enough to mount a challenge to the 2004 WC´s.

He claims that there are setup problems due to the integration of the new Mercedes V10 with the chassis.

But at the same time he says reliability won´t be a problem, also Mika Hakkinen has said last week at F1 Racing that his friends from Mclaren have already stated that Mercedes has produced a fantastic engine and finally de la Rosa has said that the new FO110Q has already got more power than the engine that finished 2003.

Has anybody got a clue of those problems? What the hell of integration problems can this be?

[tom]

ok, first the setup problems. For some reason the chassis and car is un-balanced, and mclaren cant find the right setup. second problem is the way the engine works with the chassis and car, its as if they dont like each other. McLarens engine is more powerful than last years, just like more or less all others teams engines are. Mercedes have made a better engine now and hopefully that will solve more or less all the problems but as for setup i dont know. F1 analysists believe mclaren are purposely running slow as they are using all compoents for 2004 like new rear wing and they dont want teams to copy designs etc if they are fast, but i hardly believe that any more. i want it to be true but its not

[rodlamas]

This is a very interesting matter

In the same week Raikkonen and de la Rosa have posted completly different views form the same car. This can be a very smart strategy from Mclaren. Or it can simply be some miscomunication or stuff like this.

Ok, the Mercedes engine is more powerful and let´s suppose it revs higher. A direct consequence of this would be more vibrations ans them the car would get more fragile and then the reliability problems.

But I just cannot understand how and engine and a chassis do not get on well together.

Can you be more specific about this?

Cheers

[McLaren_Fan17]

Maybe Mercedes has had to make it weigh more than they originally thought, which I would think can cause major problems in just about every area, except for reliability, which he says is good. So that is the "Integration Problem", its to heavy.

[Satchmo]

Don't forget that the suspension and all its linkage bolts right onto the gearbox, and if the geometry isn't just so, it could be a nightmare trying to get the setup right. Newey will get it straightened out...

[Reca]

In the same week Raikkonen and de la Rosa have posted completly different views form the same car. This can be a very smart strategy from Mclaren. Or it can simply be some miscomunication or stuff like this.

“When I discussed with Pedro [De La Rosa] about the new car [Jaguar R3] after the first tests, he said : ‘Actually isn’t so bad, we can drive it’ and I told him : ‘Isn’t so bad ? But if it looks like the wheels aren’t attached to the car !!!’ “ – Eddie Irvine

Obviously that’s totally unrelated with the speed of the Mp4-19, it just came to mind when I’ve read the post.

[Irvingthien]

Seems like I'm a bit confused...
The double clutch sounds unique....but how does it differs from a single clutch??The new engine must has higher hp out put because if they have the same hp as lasy year, it will be like a step backward in F1. The car looks good in Valencia but awful in Barcelona. They could be testing new design of tyres which they are not familiar with, or new components. It's almost the start of the eason and I'm expecting them to give out all they got.
Its' also bizzare to hear this becaus they have Adrian Newey working for them and two designers Neil Oatley and Mike Coughlan. Could be lack of communication when designing the chasis by both of them.

[rodlamas]

Let´s just wait for the times this week at Jerez. They will give us a clearer position to wha we have been discussing.

But I can assure to yoi Mclaren will be on the pace at Melbourne.

[tom]

if mclaren can get the douyble clutch geabox to sucessfully work then they can race a car from start to finish without any powerloss between gear changes therefore saving themselves 30 seconds rougly, which is a huge step forwald in one season.

just because if an engine is lower bhp and revs it doesnt mean its a step backwalds in terms of a cars performace, areos play the most iomportant part today, so teams have produce better chassis and areos and have less revs but still be faster.

i wish i worked at mclaren, i want to kjnow everything

[rodlamas]

But the thing is: Mercedes has produced a more powerful and more reliable engine, this is the only thing we can be more sure of.

But those integration problems can be related to a lot of things..... Maybe it´s the gearbox itself (i doubt), maybe it´s the clutch (i doubt too, even if it´s the twin one) and more probably are suspension/tyres.

But as I just said, we shall wait. I know that is awful, 200 sites come with same piece of news and we want to extract from each of them just a word that will give us a clearer picture of what is going on.

But we have been waiting since mid-October 2003 and alerady on the second third of February. Just a little less than 4 weeks and we´ll get there.

And I hope Mclare together with Williams and Renault just put Ferrrai on the last row.

HUAUHAUHAUHAUHUAHUHA

Cheers

[rumpelstulskin]

I know this is not the thread to talk about this, but i did not think my ignorance was reason enough to start a new thread
okay the question is: what is the motive behind having such a sleek nose cone (compare ferrari and mclaren). I thought a wider nose would give more downforce and the front tyre

[Guest]

LOL - probably in order to get more airflow underneath & around the car - in conjection with the 'wavy-like' front wing of course. Furthermore one could imagine the aerodynamics drawbacks due to the 'wider' Michelin front tires are also reduced with sich a nose design concept.

[Guest]

I still cant find a logical reason behind Mclaren's lack of pace and they're inability to pin point the problem. Even if i'm a massive mclaren fan, i dont believe that it is deliberate. Not a wise strategy i think.

The introduction of a 19B sounds pretty much like last year's 18. Why cant they just stick with one car? They could gone with a continuous development of the 17D. If it was capable of finishing 2nd against the FW26 and F2003 in Japan, i believe it could have done a similar thing during midseason.

[Becker4]

i think we have nothing to worry about, mclaren has been seemingly off the pace recently but remember they were very fast at beginning of off season, and they had that private testing session where we have no idea what happened . . . . plus everyone knows that pre season testing times, while fun to look at, in reality don't have too much substance as to the true preformance of the cars. besides, IF mclaren are having some problems, (which we can't be sure of), they are the one team that we know can get it figured out. i think mclaren fans will be pleasantly surprised come melbourne. but thats just me, now all you ferrari fans feel free to tell me why im wrong, i promise i won't get mad.

[rodlamas]

Kimi reported to Autosport today that this was the best Mclaren test day of 2004. It seems that they are going on the right way.

Given the amount of laps that Kimi and DC have run yestarday and that Kimi has run today, Mclaren might be running race simulations as Renault and BAR.

Maybe the new Mercedes evolution has come and then the problems have been erased or it might have been something differente and the new evo is just going to come up next week in Valencia.

We shall wait and see. But Mclaren makes me nervous with all this silence.

Just more 20 days should give us a clearer picture.

Cheers