McLaren’s dominance in F1 is now a longtime actuality, but one thing nonetheless eludes their rivals: tyres, brakes, cooling, and different mysteries.
McLaren reigns in F1, however many secrets and techniques stay hidden: from tyres to brakes, passing by way of the progressive cooling system. The engineers in Woking proceed to construct on the stable basis laid in 2023, now benefiting from a mission on the peak of its technical maturity. At mid-season, the rivals are nonetheless removed from understanding what the true “trick” of the MCL39 is — if there is just one.
Seven wins in 9 Grands Prix, six pole positions, and presently main each championships: McLaren is on the fitting trajectory to safe each world titles. It’s a dominant but “hidden” efficiency: the time gaps seem smaller, way more contained than what Purple Bull in-built 2023. However the margin over direct rivals issues little, given how simply Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris handle the races.
The Woking duo advantages from masterful tyre preservation, each on Sundays and Saturdays. The MCL39 is the one automotive on the grid able to taking advantage of the comfortable tyres all through a whole qualifying lap. All others, together with Max Verstappen, are pressured to compromise both the primary or remaining sector. However tyres are solely one of many many “mysteries” of this automotive.
Brakes, tyres, cooling: the McLaren puzzle
Analyzing the MCL39’s strengths is troublesome. It’s a automotive that’s fast underneath all situations, does all the pieces very properly, however doesn’t present clearly outlined efficiency peaks. After Barcelona, our correspondent recognized certainly one of its (many) profitable options. However the puzzle is complicated, and Michael Schmidt of Auto Motor und Sport has tried to pinpoint an important items.
Eliminating the versatile wing variable — which evidently hasn’t dented Woking’s benefit — many “small” clues stay. McLaren has proven competitiveness throughout a variety of trip heights, a degree the place Ferrari, for instance, nonetheless struggles. Credit score goes to Rob Marshall and Peter Prodromou, who recognized and achieved a extremely efficient stage of downforce, with its peak proper underneath the motive force’s seat.
This configuration could be the explanation for requiring a cockpit cooling system. Extra usually, the MCL39 has optimized temperature administration all through the automotive: “All the automotive radiates much less warmth, additionally benefiting the tyres,” writes the German outlet. The value to pay is bigger drag and, consequently, decrease prime pace.
MCL39: three unresolved mysteries
Past the final functioning of the automotive, there are nonetheless a number of notably intriguing questions. The primary, and most seen, considerations the behaviour of the mechanics, who’re all the time cautious to dam the view of the automotive throughout work, particularly across the brakes. There may be additionally no certainty relating to the attainable use of PCM supplies to additional support thermal administration.
Then there’s the difficulty of this system run throughout Free Observe 3: the 2 drivers normally push to the restrict within the third apply session, when, based on AMuS, “it could make little sense.” Lastly, the thriller of the rear tyres on the beginning grid. McLaren is all the time the final workforce to suit the rear tyres, simply earlier than the beginning. A posh and nonetheless unsolved puzzle.
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