McLaren 2009

[christophulus]

Thought this deserved a thread too, we wouldn't want anyone accused of bias now would we? :p


The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 will be unveiled at a press launch on 16th January, at the McLaren Technology Centre, Woking.
Put it in your diary to keep an eye on McLaren.com (http://www.mclaren.com/index.php) during the course of the day for updates from the event and the first pictures of the team's 2009 challenger.
Is this going to be the car to beat? Or will it be a flop? No doubt it will be broadly similar to the Ferrari and Toyota released so far..

[AJP]

Waiting....waiting....waiting....!

[gloomyDAY]

Join the dark side everybody. :vader:

[Giuseppe F1]

What time (GMT) are Macca launching today?

[christophulus]

BBC News says 10.45 GMT, McLaren's website says 11am

[Powered by Cosworth]

20 mins to go then!

Judging from testing pics, McLaren are going for a fat nose cone, compared to the usual thin ones they have.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I always usually like the look of the McLaren. They always seem to do something different.

[ArrowsFA1]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72814

[Ranger]

http://www.autosport.com/gallery/picture_free.php/dir/2008mac1/image/XPB_284729_HiRes.jpg-2
Doesn't look bad from that angle.

[PolePosition_1]

best looking car so far I think.

[ArrowsFA1]

Hard to tell from the side. All the cars we've seen so far look good from the side :p

More pics (http://www.autosport.com/gallery/index.php/id/1572)

[Knock-on]

I want to see some more pics but from that angle it looks georgous!

[ArrowsFA1]

http://www.mclaren.com/f1season/2009/launch/gallery.php

[Birdman5700]

I like the flow of the body around the exhaust port.

http://www.autosport.com/gallery/photo.php/id/121615

[TMorel]

New car and new team principle then with Ron stepping down...
Roll on March I say :)

[ioan]

Not enough pictures for an objective comparison. Looks bulky from that picture.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

It looks bulky but I wonder whether it is just down to the fact that they covered the exhaust. Who knows, that exhaust cover may function as a flip up, something they cannot use from this year. Just speculating. But I would find it very interesting if Toyota really did a better job in terms of tight packaging.

[Knock-on]

Not enough pictures for an objective comparison. Looks bulky from that picture.

Loot at the shot from above, the section forward of the cockpit is sharp as a tac :)

Loot at the shot from above, the section forward of the cockpit is sharp as a tac :)

It's certainly very tidy, but what I find most interesting is the nose, which has a much more rounded profile (reminiscent of the first high-nose Tyrrell).

Ferrari have kept their now traditional nose, Toyota have gone narrower but still fairly flat & angular, but this one has a much more pronounced curvature to its trailing edge profile and top plane.

Haven't seen something like that for quite some time.

[wedge]

I like the flow of the body around the exhaust port.

http://www.autosport.com/gallery/photo.php/id/121615

I won't be surprised if we see engine failures this year unless they use the shark gills or back to exposed exhaust ports.

They've gone for a conventional bargeboard setup whereas the Ferrari and Toyota have the deflector shield design.

[RJL25]

interesting, while Ferrari have packaged the rear of the car as tightly as possible, no doubt to minimise drag as much as possible, mclaren have gone almost in the opposite direction and have sculpted a sidepod to direct air where they want it to go, and have worried less about making the car "tight".

It will be interesting to see which proves to be the better way to go.

Mclaren also have a small lip around the bottom of the floor, no doubt designed to channel air, i wonder how long untill the other teams adopt this.

The Toyota i think is closer to the McLaren in concept then the Ferrari.

Can't wait to see what the other teams come up with. Last time there was major aero changes (when they narrowed the cars with the introduction of grooved tyres) it was Adrien Newey who nailed it with McLaren, so i'm really looking forward to see what he does with the RB5

Also worth noting that all teams so far appear to have gone for zero keel, as most did last year, will Newey still stubbornly stick to a keel? V-keel last year wasn't it?

[ioan]

Well the McLaren front suspension looks more complicated and has an air of deja-vu, maybe an older BMW or Honda?

[christophulus]

I think it's probably the best looking of the three cars so far, the Ferrari being spoilt looks-wise by those rather odd wing mirrors.

Plenty of time for all the cars to change and copy each other by the end of March though

[RJL25]

I think it's probably the best looking of the three cars so far, the Ferrari being spoilt looks-wise by those rather odd wing mirrors.

Plenty of time for all the cars to change and copy each other by the end of March though

The thing is though, teams used to copy each other by copying winglets and other such things, without those how much scope will there actually be to evolve the cars aerodynamically throughout the year?

I think the exterior of the cars may well stay fairly static throughout the year.

[Knock-on]

The thing is though, teams used to copy each other by copying winglets and other such things, without those how much scope will there actually be to evolve the cars aerodynamically throughout the year?

I think the exterior of the cars may well stay fairly static throughout the year.

Fair point. Without a major development, it's difficult to redesign the shell.

[christophulus]

The thing is though, teams used to copy each other by copying winglets and other such things, without those how much scope will there actually be to evolve the cars aerodynamically throughout the year?

I think the exterior of the cars may well stay fairly static throughout the year.

That's a good point, especially with the lack of testing. The area around the sidepods is very different on all three cars so far so I suppose we'll wait and see who's got it right.

[Tazio]

A good looking car :up:
A little more "swoopy" overall than the F60.
Only 69 days until Oz

[Allyc85]

Best looking car so far, I really like the body work around the exhausts :)

[F1boat]

So far looks most beautiful. :)

[Dzeidzei]

So far looks most beautiful. :)

The car looks good.

But what do you make of this part with holes (trying to attach a pic).

Cant see a similar design in Ferrari or Toyota.

[jens]

I have considered McLaren as a potential team to beat in 2009 for some time by now, hence I had a special interest in their car launch, which could be a potential benchmark for others. It would be good to see a similar comparison with Toyota and Ferrari like the last two machineries were compared to each other. As TF109 seemed "fatter" than F60, then it would be interesting to see from a comparison shot, where does MP4/24 fit in this category. While Ferrari has a long nose and Toyota a short one, it seems McLaren's front end is somewhat balanced between those two. However, front wing's endplates still seem the most complicated ones at the TF109. :p : Is it just my impression or not, but F60's exhaust pipe doesn't seem to have been "hidden" in as aeroefficient way as the other two?

[ioan]

It would be good to see a similar comparison with Toyota and Ferrari like the last two machineries were compared to each other. As TF109 seemed "fatter" than F60, then it would be interesting to see from a comparison shot, where does MP4/24 fit in this category.

No need for images I can tell you the Burger is the fattest of the 3 till now. Somehow they managed to copy Toyota's old and outdated side pods! :p :

[truefan72]

Eh,

They all look to similar IMO. Most differences are rather minimal.
Still like the livery.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I think the cars look better now with the flip ups removed from the side-pods but the front wings are too flat now. I preferred the highly sculptured front wings that we became used to since 2003/2004.

[airshifter]

The car looks good.

But what do you make of this part with holes (trying to attach a pic).

Cant see a similar design in Ferrari or Toyota.

I noticed that also. Forward larger hole is obviously for the sling lift, but it seems the rearward piece also isn't solid and has slits of some sort.

[rjtart]

This is not as illuminating as mating overhead shots of 2 cars, but I haven't found any such shots of the McLaren.
I'm sure these 2 are not exactly to scale, but I think I've got them pretty close.

How do I post pics so they can be seen online?

[Tazio]

The car looks good.

But what do you make of this part with holes (trying to attach a pic).

Cant see a similar design in Ferrari or Toyota.Just a wild guess (and probably off the mark) I wonder if it could have something to do with porting air to mix with exaust for tire warming ala Renault 2008 :confused:

[raikk]

so far so good now to see what it does in testing and the races :) can't wait!

[Knock-on]

This is not as illuminating as mating overhead shots of 2 cars, but I haven't found any such shots of the McLaren.
I'm sure these 2 are not exactly to scale, but I think I've got them pretty close.

How do I post pics so they can be seen online?

Another great effort :up:

The two are pretty similar from the side. Would be good to get a top view.

[Knock-on]

http://media.paddocktalk.com/assets/albums/41_vodafone_mclaren_mercedes_mp4-24_-_overhead_view_-_a4__300dpi.jpg