McLaren set for new car legality fight
McLaren is bracing itself for a battle over the legality of its new MP4-27.
According to McLaren Applied Technologies managing director Geoff McGrath, the new car, which is launched tomorrow, will feature obvious design innovations which could potentially attract protests from rivals.
These are the result of the team's aim to be less conservative in the interpretation of the Formula 1 regulations than it has been in previous years.
"There are technical innovations on the car which will be immediately obvious when you see them," said McGrath, who added that McLaren is "getting ready for a fight" over its new machine.
McGrath admitted that McLaren has paid the price for being overly cautious in previous seasons. The team has finished behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship in the past three years and must start the season strongly if it is to end that run.
"We've started way behind in the last couple of years — that's the really disappointing thing," he said. "But when we're behind, you can see that historically we always catch up faster than anyone else.
"Until we go to the first test in Jerez (which starts on February 7), the engineers won't know for sure if they got it right."
It is understood that McLaren is focusing on single-lap speed with the MP4-27, which it hopes will allow it to take more pole positions and control races from the front.
McGrath added that beating qualifying master Sebastian Vettel will be crucial if McLaren is to be successful in 2012, particularly as its analysis indicated that the raw pace of last year's MP4-26 was superior towards the end of the season despite Red Bull and Vettel's run of poles.
"He must be a brilliant driver, because by the end of last season we definitely had the best car and he was still whupping us," McGrath said.
"We're trying to figure out exactly what he's doing that's so good. How does he pull out that fast qualifying lap every time? We think it's driver skill. There's no trickery on the cars, he just gets more out of it than we do."
Comment 35 - 54 of 54
Looks like the English-Sheep-Shaggers team has another illegal car.
They were crying and throwing tantrums last week to ban thhe lotus ride height system, while their own car is full of illegal aids.
@Asim
Nice. You skipped playing the Ami card and went straight to a personal insult.
@Robert
I was being generous. The cars were obviously very close by the end of the season, and I think it came down to each weekend as to which team had the best car.
They will all look good ? you will have to wait until the first race to see the winners and loosers
@44 Let not the race card bother you. Africa IS the most corrupt, backward, murderous, unproductive Continent on the Planet. I Smith Zim Breadbasket of Africa. Mugabe Zim {After he killed the white Farmers} a starving sh hole, Relying on EU Aid, 92%unemployment, GDP $500 pp pa. Source CIA Factbook.
Planet . I honestly doubt that either would care too much . I'm sure these guys recognize the talent of Vettel as he would of both Lewis and Jenson. Nothing wrong with a bit of honesty
surely that is what teams are supposed to do, produce a car that pushes the boundaries, openly, let them be declared legal or not as the case may be. Not produce a car that hides something that is clearly against the rules. The first is innovation, the second cheating.
"....How does he pull out that fast qualifying lap every time? We think it's driver skill. There's no trickery on the cars, Vettel just gets more out of it than we do." what would Button an Hamilton think about this statement?
@Nicholas
well said!
@staurt_walker
interesting analogy, prost/senna and button/hamilton! it will be a fight between mastering the race and intimidating it into surrender (at least that is how i perceive it: button, the cerebral racer, and hamilton, the talented bully)
Bill K . Correction to your post #37 . McLaren and Red Bull were not on equal terms as you suggest. Please take notice of the following statement that can be found in the article above .
"He must be a brilliant driver, because by the end of last season we definitely had the best car and he was still whupping us," McGrath said.
This makes it even better knowing that Lewis in the top car couldn't get around Massa in the pig Ferrari, 5 times.
This is no trickery on the Redbull, it just has impeccable design characteristics (plus a blown diffuser) that give it that extra 0.75. I suspect by solely crediting Vettel (and no-one else), McGrath was secretly taking a pop at Redbulls technical team for just coming up with a car that just obliterates the opposition.
hey comment 40, it aint racism, italian isnt a race, its a nationality so its xenophobia. i hate it when people play the racist card without knowing what racism acually is
Wau! that must have been hard to say, that Vettel just edged it over everybody else! first step to fixing a problem, is to acknowledge it. they are professionals, they will find a way past this, and maybe they will fight Vettel's qualifiers with race pace. one day, Red bull's dominance will end, history showed us (from the 80's it was mclaren, williams, benetton, williams, ferrari, renault, mclaren and ferrari, and now red bull).
An idea from Nissan.
Innovations, so where have they stolen the plans form this time?
Cheat cheat cheat
Decisive racist comment from 39 , what an idiot
bill your a moron, by your own admission no less.
Finally, as many Vettel fans suspected and tried to point out, the McLaren and Red Bull were on equal footing by the end of the season. Yet, Vettel still managed more poles wins and points than the McLaren drivers.
24.Many thumbs make you the coward sunshine so say bye to yourself virgin and your many spare id's.
From Wizzo, on Tue 31 Jan 9:32PM
Wizzo deluded coward, i have this one id. You 2 idiots claim to be able to trace people..If you could you would see this is the only id from this ip address. I'm still awaiting your old friends attempts to post my postcode on here.
The thumbing is not done by me but people who quite frankly hate you 2 idiots.
The big pods on the side are going to carry coal.Five laps with high octane fuel and five laps with coke. I have heard Big Ron is going to stoke up every ten laps when they come in for tyres.
Big Ron. Big bad Ron.
Well he borrowed Ferrari plans.
When every body was asleep.
Big Ron. Big bad Ron.
Please login to post a comment
Not already a Yahoo! user ? Sign up to get a free Yahoo! Account