McLaren launches the MP4-26

[RimasRS]

Is it possible to pay deposit yet?

[E90SLAM]

Jerez Test Day 4

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by RimasRS

Is it possible to pay deposit yet?

Wut???

[E90SLAM]

Barcelona Test Day 1

[E90SLAM]

Barcelona Test Day 2

[KANdaddy]

Originally Posted by Memphis1

Does anyone know what all the knobs and buttons do on that steering wheel?

Missiles, ejector seat, oil slick, smoke screen.

[E90SLAM]

Barcelona Test Day 3

[UltimateBMW]

Hope that isn't the resin bubbling from the heat.

Perhaps its geometry built onto the suspension for aero?

[E90SLAM]

Barcelona Test Day 4

[E90SLAM]

Bad news for McLaren fans (if there's anyone else besides me...)....
they've been on the back foot in the past 2 years 2009 and 2010....so now they're gonna create a dog again and waste the entire season to improve it just to match with SF and RBR's 80% performance???

Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have both flagged their concerns that ongoing problems with the new McLaren MP4-26 might not be resolved by the time the season finally gets underway in Melbourne in just under four weeks.

While both Red Bull and Ferrari have impressed in pre-season testing, McLaren, which launched later than the others, has been dogged by mechanical issues.

"It's tricky because we haven't had enough testing in the car to do proper set-up work, which is disappointing," Button told the Times. "When you're limited on parts and you have reliability issues, you don't get the testing done. You need to really develop the car.

"It's been bitty in testing. We have had some good runs but the problem is we have not done enough to see our pace compared with others. We've improved but not enough. The next test [at Barcelona next week] is really important. If we went racing now, we wouldn't be quite ready."

Button's views were echoed by Hamilton, who bemoaned the lack of time he has had on the track at Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona. "One day we did only 38 laps," he said. "It's nothing major but we have had mechanical issues at the back of the car and that has really hampered us.

"We have picked up but we are behind on mileage and we can't catch it up on the testing left."

Hamilton also stressed the difficulties the team would face it if failed to hit the ground running at Melbourne. "It is always difficult to catch people," he said. "Wherever we are right now, we will have to do twice as much work with our update package for the first race because so will Ferrari and Red Bull."

http://en.espnf1.com/mclaren/motorsp...html#fcomments

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

Bad news for McLaren fans (if there's anyone else besides me...)....
they've been on the back foot in the past 2 years 2009 and 2010....so now they're gonna create a dog again and waste the entire season to improve it just to match with SF and RBR's 80% performance???



http://en.espnf1.com/mclaren/motorsp...html#fcomments

I'm still in there with ya.

This latest news doesn't really bother me. We have yet to see the full aero package, which will really tell us whats going on. The lack of mileage is the only real concern, and that wont hurt them much farther than the first race for sorting out reliability. Unless its really just in shambles.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

I'm still in there with ya.

This latest news doesn't really bother me. We have yet to see the full aero package, which will really tell us whats going on. The lack of mileage is the only real concern, and that wont hurt them much farther than the first race for sorting out reliability. Unless its really just in shambles.

Or they just BS-ing and saying "oh...our car sucked"....
Hoping this season will be a 4 team race till the end!
(RBR, SF, McLaren, and Mercedes)

[escobar929]

ya, im hoping there is a lil bluffing on their part. i want them to be as competitive as the other big teams

[E90SLAM]

Barcelona Test Day 1

McLaren nose bubble sparks speculation

McLaren unveiled a bubble nose on the first day of testing at Barcelona, sparking speculation the device would be used at the first race in Australia on March 27.

Jenson Button's first run in the MP4-26 was unremarkable, but when he re-emerged after his first stop the bulbous nose had been fitted - it also featured rods branching out on either side of the front wing.

The consensus was it was an aerodynamic assistance, but at the lunchtime break McLaren explained it was no more than a measuring device and would not feature at any of the races.

http://en.espnf1.com/mclaren/motorsp...ory/42557.html

[Goonz]

interesting..remember this back in 2004? lol

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by Goonz

interesting..remember this back in 2004? lol

There's a fine line between genius design and complete useless stuff...
but probably its a tension sensor to measure how much downforce the front wing will generate....
As McLaren already removed it in the afternoon test...

[escobar929]

thats kinda funky looking

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by escobar929

thats kinda funky looking

I don't think rods are bring advantage to aerodynamic...unless its purpose its to push the wing closer to the ground?

but that seemed disturbing the airflow from the nose..

probably as i said, could be just a tension measure device to see how much downforce the front wing "actually" generates. as well as the dynamics when the car taking corners.

We shall see in Melbourne...

[STIto335]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

There's a fine line between genius design and complete useless stuff...
but probably its a tension sensor to measure how much downforce the front wing will generate....
As McLaren already removed it in the afternoon test...

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

I don't think rods are bring advantage to aerodynamic...unless its purpose its to push the wing closer to the ground?

but that seemed disturbing the airflow from the nose..

probably as i said, could be just a tension measure device to see how much downforce the front wing "actually" generates. as well as the dynamics when the car taking corners.

We shall see in Melbourne...

Or it measures wing flex, if you recall at the end of last year the big thing was redbull and ferrari's flexing front wing.

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by STIto335

Or it measures wing flex, if you recall at the end of last year the big thing was redbull and ferrari's flexing front wing.

thats pretty much similar to what i've said, more wing flex, more tensional load on the rods...but yah...i'm more and more convinced that it can't be an "aerodynamic" device....it just looks too bulky....

[E90SLAM]

Barcelona Test Day 2

[E90SLAM]

Barcelona Test Day 4