McLaren's new MP4-19 hits the track today - will it put them at the top of the podium in 2004?
Is Mc Back?
- Thread starter Dave Baumann
- Start date
Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.
Legend
DaveBaumann said:
They came close last year with what was basically an upgraded, year-old car. This new car has had a lot more development time than most of the competition, having been working since the middle of last year, so could be very good - depending of course on how much advancement the likes of Ferrari and Williams made over the winter.
The main thing is that Mclaren need to address their reliability. They lost out on winning the championship last year because they just didn't have the ability to finish races like Ferrari could, even when they were well in the lead.
DaveBaumann said:
Their rear looks pretty interesting, the seem to have integrated gear box and motor (just like Ferrari did) and have added some modifications to their rear axis. This car seems to have a very low centre of mass which would give them more traction. Let's see about the motor...
hupfinsgack said:
The gearbox probably will resemble the Ferrari one as McLaren paoched the designer about 18 months ago - no mean feat as most Ferrari engineers are paid so much that they laugh when other teams make an offer. McLaren must really be shelling out the cahs as they have just done the same with Ferrari's aerodynamisist!
The back end of the car looks interesting as it seems to completly disappear even more so than the MP4-18 did - this isn't just about a low center of gravity, but also as much downforce from the back end as much as possible.
The new Merc engine is also supposed to be smaller, giving a lower center of gravity.
MuFu said:
Exhaust exit.
DaveBaumann said:
Right, yeah - now I notice there's one on the other side too. So they've abandoned the exhaust/diffuser system again. I wonder whether they were having aerodynamic problems. Maybe pipes are just getting too damn short these days for exhaust to be practically routed to the diffuser tunnel.
MuFu.
MuFu said:
Actually, even McLaren had abandoned exhaust via the difuser for the past two years - even though they were the last of the top teams to do so. The MP4-17 just had the exhaust exits much more flush to the bodywork exiting diagonally upwards, whereas the exhaust here will curl round to aim straight back.
AFAIK the reason for not exiting in or before the difuser is becuase of aerodynamic/drivability issues. It changes the behaviour of the car depending on whether you are accelerating or not - for instance if you are in a slow corner, the downforce will be low, but just as you hit the apex you'll start accelerating again making a surge of hot air run through the diffuser altering the downforce characteristics of the car.
Another point, is that cutting off the exhaust here means there is less exhaust piping and hence less bodywork to need to cater for and will allow for a better tapered rear end.
DaveBaumann said:
I'm sure the MP4-18 used this system. Perhaps one of the many reasons it was so crappy. I guess they did "abandon" it, in a way.
I'm going to make a point of watching F1 this year. The few races I caught early last season were suprisingly entertaining.
MuFu.
MuFu said:
No, the 4-18 actually did have upward facing exhausts, but they were quite disguised at the back of the car - they looked like diagonal slits towards the back of the bodywork before the rear suspension. This was one of the early problems with the car - the bodywork was catching on fire because of the heat generated.
davefb said:
Externally this one is based on the one that never raced, however the MP4-19 is an entirely new chassis and much of the internals under the skin are different, so this is a "new" car.