Mclaren MP4-27 launch thread

Cleanthes said:
Not the loveliest car ever, but a stunner by comparison. If there's any justice in motorsport, Mclaren will win constructors just for not having that horrible nose! Here's hoping Red Bull, Mercedes etc. don't have that awful beak as well.
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If 3 out of the 4 cars launched so far have the steped front end. There has to be a good reason for it. Other than to just meet the new regs?
 
paulh said:
If 3 out of the 4 cars launched so far have the steped front end. There has to be a good reason for it. Other than to just meet the new regs?
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dont forget the Ferrari had a big issue warming its tyres last season, and this stepped nose is a way to combat that

McLaren didnt have the same issue, so could keep a similar design to what they already had
 
McLaren haven't radically dropped the front of their carbon tub to meet the new regulations. It was low already, so allowed them to adopt a curve without much redevelopment.

The Ferrari had a full height tub. They have adopted the regs again without much need for redevelopment, but this has forced them into using a step design.

Any disadvantage from having a 'step' must be outweighed by not having to redesign the whole front of the carbon tub, or other areas like the airflow under the nose. The designers of F1 cars aren't idiots. If the 'step' was such a serious issue, it wouldn't be on the car. The fact it is means it clearly isn't an issue. And the only reason it isn't on the McLaren is because they already had a car from 2011 with a lower nose.

Yes, it looks ugly, nobody is arguing with that. But its not the massive screw up people are trying to suggest it is, and conversely neither is not having one.
 
Spunkey said:
Why is the stepped nose a way to improve tyre warm up?
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Was it Scarbs that suggested the nose stepping could assist with Ferrari's tyre warming .......I will try and remember, sorry brain is a lil fried today

definitely read it in the last couple of days from the launch thread of either McLaren or the Ferrari on here:)

It was related to the airflow under the car/ under the nose but beyond that ........
 
FrankJH said:
Was it Scarbs that suggested the nose stepping could assist with Ferrari's tyre warming .......I will try and remember, sorry brain is a lil fried today

definitely read it in the last couple of days from the launch thread of either McLaren or the Ferrari on here:)

It was related to the airflow under the car/ under the nose but beyond that ........
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I believe that had a lot more to do with their new pull-rod Front Suspension setup and the aero benefits they are getting from it :)
 
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McLaren looks good. Sure, it doesn't have the "L-shaped" side pods from last year's car, but that doesn't make the new car ugly -- it just isn't as unique. But if all the other teams end up having 'gator' noses, the McLaren will still be as unique as last year, albeit for a different reason. The 27 may not look quite as good as the 26, but it certainly looks better than the 25 (those shark fins were abysmally ugly).
 
TaKeN said:
I believe that had a lot more to do with their new pull-rod Front Suspension setup and the aero benefits they are getting from it :)
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It was indeed Mark Hughes comments as such I was thinking of

Ferrari have been badly hampered in recent seasons - and particularly in 2011 - by their struggle to put heat into their tyres, and Hughes belives that the radical-looking new look has, in part, been inspired by the need to fix that fault.

"Being the first design overseen by Pat Fry, and with the very clear recognition he had of the 2011 car's limitations, I'd expect this one to behave quite differently - though that isn't from anything that can be seen on the car. But I'd expect the kinematics of the suspension to be designed to work the front tyres more, to get heat in them faster than Ferraris of the previous few years, and give them a performance pattern more like their rivals.
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although I agree now rereading it also says "that isnt from from anything that can be seen on the (2012) car" - which to me kind of contradicts what I bolded from the first paragragh lol
 
What you read about, was the benefit of having a higher tub vs the low one as seen on the mclaren...

The Ferrari has a high tub and nose as they seek to maximise the airflow under the car, while the mclaren has a low tub and nose, which is why they need the snowplough nose fin, as it's a compromise, but the upshot is better CofG.
 
EVH said:
What you read about, was the benefit of having a higher tub vs the low one as seen on the mclaren...

The Ferrari has a high tub and nose as they seek to maximise the airflow under the car, while the mclaren has a low tub and nose, which is why they need the snowplough nose fin, as it's a compromise, but the upshot is better CofG.
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totally agree with what you are saying - the only thing I would point out is that the original comment states "radical looking" , which to me is the wierd nose, not that the Ferrari is using a high tub :)
 
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