Mclaren Brake Cooling

[F1nKS]

There is a lot of discussion online about McLaren's lack of tire degradation in extreme heating conditions. Red Bull, it seems, has had an unofficial protest after Miami and caused the FIA to take a closer look. But there has been no official report.


Some believe that McLaren may have figured out how to use advanced adaptive materials to create a breakthrough in cooling their brakes and helping prevent their tires from overheating.

https://forums.autosport.com/topic/2...vantage-split/

https://www.f1technical.net/forum/vi....php?p=1284056

Others believe that McLaren has had an innovative breakthrough in cooling its brakes. The innovation would not be against the rules (yet). So, the race would be for other teams to figure it out and copy it, or the FIA would create a rule against it.

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/m...fia-all-clear/

The inability of rival teams to fully understand what McLaren is doing has prompted some to question whether it may be operating in a grey area of the regulations.

It is understood that thermal images Red Bull had obtained from an outside party, which revealed some intriguing cold spots on the McLaren rear brake drums, had been shown to the FIA as part of an ongoing dialogue on the matter.

But despite repeated chatter on the matter, and even some suggestions that McLaren had been forced to change its design, the squad insisted that there was nothing untoward happening.

[airshifter]

Whatever they are doing, they have a lot of people scratching heads to try to figure it out.

I have seen some good theories out there, but I'm not 100% sure if any of them would run afoul of the current regs. One if the theory of using some type of bimetal stips to channel air to different parts of the cooling ducts under different temps. I can't take this one too seriously myself, because although it might help the warm up stage, it couldn't increase flow once the tires are warmed up. And lower temps long term is what they seem to be able to do. There are also theories on the use of phase change materials in the tins areas, and that might have more potential to limit heat conduction to the wheels and tires. But even that seems unlikely, unless they are also incorporating it into the carbon fiber areas of the drum.

I wonder if the recent inspection gave any real insights to this, or if it remains very well hidden. Only time will tell.

[Nitrodaze]

Whatever they are doing, they have a lot of people scratching heads to try to figure it out.

I have seen some good theories out there, but I'm not 100% sure if any of them would run afoul of the current regs. One if the theory of using some type of bimetal stips to channel air to different parts of the cooling ducts under different temps. I can't take this one too seriously myself, because although it might help the warm up stage, it couldn't increase flow once the tires are warmed up. And lower temps long term is what they seem to be able to do. There are also theories on the use of phase change materials in the tins areas, and that might have more potential to limit heat conduction to the wheels and tires. But even that seems unlikely, unless they are also incorporating it into the carbon fiber areas of the drum.

I wonder if the recent inspection gave any real insights to this, or if it remains very well hidden. Only time will tell.

i really don't like the idea of banning clever innovation because another team complains. Typical Redbull tactics to slow down the leading team. They hounded Mercedes until they found a way to get ahead, now they are doing the same to McLaren.

They might have found a way within the regulations to achieve effective cooling of the tyres. And it may be in a place that is not easy to see and photograph. That would be very frustrating to the other teams, and it is certainly not a reason for it to be banned. Hence, I hope the FIA is not going to pander to the wishes of the complainers.

[F1nKS]

i really don't like the idea of banning clever innovation because another team complains. Typical Redbull tactics to slow down the leading team. They hounded Mercedes until they found a way to get ahead, now they are doing the same to McLaren.

They might have found a way within the regulations to achieve effective cooling of the tyres. And it may be in a place that is not easy to see and photograph. That would be very frustrating to the other teams, and it is certainly not a reason for it to be banned. Hence, I hope the FIA is not going to pander to the wishes of the complainers.

The FIA has a long track record of changing the rules to ban innovations, most recently was the Mercedes Dual Axis Steering. Teams are striving for technological advancement and to skirt the rules as much as possible. FIA focus is on safety and competition.

[airshifter]

It's not just Red Bull that cries to the FIA, it's essentially any team that isn't winning much of the time.

And with the FIA being the way it is, it will continue to happen. They leave grey areas in the regs, so that when the teams complain they can allow or ban it as they choose. It gives them a chance to allow dominance, or tighter racing, depending on which way they want to rule.