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Post by blacktulip on Feb 4, 2011 11:52:24 GMT
From ITV F1
McLaren has unveiled the car that it hopes will take it to world championship success in 2011, the MP4-26, during an unusual launch event in Berlin.
The Woking outfit, revealing its new car in the German capital at the request of title sponsor Vodafone, shunned a simple 'wraps off' unveiling for something altogether different as mechnics rolled the chassis, without engine cover, wheels and nosecone, into the historic Potsdamer Platz before fitting the parts to complete the full car as they were brought to them by customers of the telecommunications firm.
On first glance, the MP4-26 features a flat nose, similar to the new Ferrari, and particularly aggressive-looking sidepods as well as typically neat packaging at the rear.
The innovative unveiling reflects the generally different approach McLaren has taken to pre-season compared to its rivals, having used its old 2010 car for this week’s first pre-season test in Valencia so it could purely focus on evaluating the new Pirelli tyres.
With the later launch having also allowed its design team potentially crucial extra days to work on the new car in its wind tunnel, the squad is confident its schedule will pay off and the three pre-season tests that remain will allow it ample time to get on top of the new challenger.
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Post by blacktulip on Feb 4, 2011 11:54:09 GMT
From ITV F1
Lewis Hamilton is hoping the higher degradation from the new Pirelli tyres Formula 1’s teams are seeing during testing in Valencia this week will mean a return to races with multiple pit stops in 2011.
The sport’s new tyre supplier has made available three of its new compounds to be used in the coming season at the first test of pre-season and following the second day of running numerous drivers reported higher wear levels compared to last year’s Bridgestones.
Having not been present at the end-of-season tyre test in Abu Dhabi when teams tried the Pirelli rubber for the first time, Hamilton used Wednesday to get his first experience of the new tyres as McLaren continued to try and gain as much understanding of them as possible on its old car.
The former champion said the fact that the tyres were degrading so fast, and there generally was a bigger performance difference between the various compounds, meant teams were probably going to have to go back to making more than one pit stop in races this year.
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Post by blacktulip on Feb 4, 2011 11:55:27 GMT
From ITV F1Jenson Button is optimistic the new Pirelli tyres will better suit his driving style than last year’s Bridgestones - and particularly help him improve his qualifying performances this year.
The McLaren driver tried the Italian manufacturer’s new Formula 1 rubber out for the first time in Valencia on Thursday and afterwards expressed his initial liking for them, particularly as they seem to offer stable grip at the rear of the car.
“I like the feeling of the tyre,” Button told reporters.
“It’s got a stable rear when you enter high-speed corners, it’s got a stable rear when you brake for low-speed corners.
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Post by blacktulip on Feb 4, 2011 14:08:31 GMT
From Sky sport
McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe and engineering director Tim Goss discuss the team's new MP4-26 car.
What are the significant visual changes to the MP4-26?
Tim Goss: "I think there are some novel features on the car - the long wheelbase and U-shaped sidepods are probably the most obvious examples. The thinking behind that is to feed as much good-quality air as possible to the rear-lower main plane and the floor of the car. We want to get the rear-end working as well as possible following the loss of performance caused by the banning of the double-diffuser.
"For 2011, KERS [hybrid] is now a single integrated unit that sits within the survival cell, beneath the fuel-tank. In 2009, it was housed in the sidepods. The hybrid's cooling intake sits directly below the main roll-hoop intake.
"And, once again, we've really pushed the car's cooling configuration: we've got a second air intake on the engine cover for gearbox and hydraulic cooling."
What have been your biggest challenges ahead of the 2011 season?
TG: "For me, there have been two: recovering the rear downforce we lost following the banning of the double-diffuser, and fully exploiting the Pirelli tyres. The tyres only last for around 10 laps, and making them last longer is quite a challenge. So we need to look closely at how we configure the set-up and suspension to make the tyres last."
Paddy Lowe: "Getting KERS [hybrid] back on the car was a big task. Collaborating with Mercedes GP to define the specification for Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines was very satisfying: there was great collaboration and co-operation between us. There can be lots of difficulties finding alignment between two teams, but I'm pleased with how we made it happen and very happy with the outcome."
TG: "The system was also more difficult to package because you've got to carry more fuel. That was the first challenge, but we got through that. There were a few difficult decisions concerning architecture around different aerodynamic concepts, but I think we ended up with a design layout we're happy with."
You've both stressed the team-effort that has characterised the development of this car - does the recent restructure of the technical management reflect that?
PL: "The restructure reflects Tim's increased role within the engineering department, but it's also been good to delegate the work around the next generation of senior engineers coming through in the company.
"For MP4-26, we've distributed the workload around five or six senior engineers in different specialist areas - and that's a structure that will continue under Tim's watch. I'm really proud of the depth of talent that we can draw upon at McLaren Racing, and there have been some great opportunities for some new players to contribute directly to the car at a high level.
TG: "And it's not just good for them; it's good for the company and good for the end-product. I think we're going to make better cars because we have wider access to the horsepower available within the design system. They're all good guys and all have good ideas - it's a cliche, but car design really is a team effort these days."
What are your immediate aspirations as you roll out MP4-26
TG: We set ourselves a very ambitious aerodynamic target for 2011. We always want to do more and we're always very critical about performance, but we feel we've done a good job. We've identified some areas where we can add performance to the car - over the next weeks, the task will be to get them on to the car and reliable by the first race. That's the big challenge."
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Post by susieq on Feb 4, 2011 21:40:53 GMT
Don't like it!!
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Post by blacktulip on Feb 5, 2011 9:19:55 GMT
Lol turns out it was not a real car but a mock up with a plastic engine, must be super green lol
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Post by digital_F1 on Feb 6, 2011 10:26:43 GMT
What's not to like? Ok, same colour scheme as previous years, but there's new features all round it - See the hi-res images on F1 Fanatic and you'll see the nice lines and curves it has.  |
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Post by susieq on Feb 6, 2011 12:14:57 GMT
It's a McLaren................ hahaha
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Post by WickedPlans on Feb 6, 2011 12:20:21 GMT
ooooh, lovely lines. very curvy
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Post by blacktulip on Feb 7, 2011 9:57:25 GMT
Nice looking car in my opinion
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