Pre-Season 2012 New Car Images & Discussion
- Thread starter Mephistopheles
- Start date
Jos the Boss
Champion Elect
I'm just waiting to see how bad it looks!
Nicely spotted! It took me a while to pause at the right spot (17secs) but as long as it's not just a trick of the light on the red/orange graphics you may have it.It has a stepped nose!
tranquility2k9
Podium Finisher
Interesting comments coming out regarding Hamilton's opinion on new McLaren. Check this article:- http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/hamilton-disappointed-with-2012-mclaren-reports/
I'm really not sure what to believe. As a McLaren fan part of me wants to ignore it and it most likely is made up. But then he said a few things in an interview at Jerez that did make me think. He said they were aggressive on fuel when he posted his low 1.19s lap. Usually aggressive would mean they were low on fuel, but you never know, he could have meant they were topped up well. He also said the car was not so good in high speed or in traction (arguably 2 most crucial areas) but he was comparing it to the MP4-26, which when he last drove it in Brazil it would have been significantly faster than any of the 2012 cars. Plus the EBD had a major influence on high speed cornering and traction - so he may just be acknowledging those areas are not so good. Compare this to the Grosjean of Lotus, who says the car is already better than the 2011 car, but they had a poor 2011 car.
I am not too worried about any of this but the only things that worry me is there has been a lot of criticism of McLaren's nose design. It may look nice but it does not feed as much airflow to the floor and rear of the car. On top of this, their sidepods have now come under criticism. Check this in autosport:- http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/9601/mclarendetail.png
I have to say that their sidepods are larger than most other cars, which must be a disadvantage aero-wise. From looking at the car I cannot see anything on it that stands out as an area they have done a better job than the other teams. They have a fancy exhaust but it is already coming out that Red Bull's solution looks to be the best because they've laid a suspension arm directly in-front of the exhaust exit and made that suspension flat so that it rebounds the exhausts into the beam wing. This is not something that is simple to copy and it is legal because suspension is not classified as body work.
Hmmm...
I'm really not sure what to believe. As a McLaren fan part of me wants to ignore it and it most likely is made up. But then he said a few things in an interview at Jerez that did make me think. He said they were aggressive on fuel when he posted his low 1.19s lap. Usually aggressive would mean they were low on fuel, but you never know, he could have meant they were topped up well. He also said the car was not so good in high speed or in traction (arguably 2 most crucial areas) but he was comparing it to the MP4-26, which when he last drove it in Brazil it would have been significantly faster than any of the 2012 cars. Plus the EBD had a major influence on high speed cornering and traction - so he may just be acknowledging those areas are not so good. Compare this to the Grosjean of Lotus, who says the car is already better than the 2011 car, but they had a poor 2011 car.
I am not too worried about any of this but the only things that worry me is there has been a lot of criticism of McLaren's nose design. It may look nice but it does not feed as much airflow to the floor and rear of the car. On top of this, their sidepods have now come under criticism. Check this in autosport:- http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/9601/mclarendetail.png
I have to say that their sidepods are larger than most other cars, which must be a disadvantage aero-wise. From looking at the car I cannot see anything on it that stands out as an area they have done a better job than the other teams. They have a fancy exhaust but it is already coming out that Red Bull's solution looks to be the best because they've laid a suspension arm directly in-front of the exhaust exit and made that suspension flat so that it rebounds the exhausts into the beam wing. This is not something that is simple to copy and it is legal because suspension is not classified as body work.
Hmmm...
The noise is so much better on amateur cam why can't the telly have more realistic sound
OMG
Mercedes' offering for the "F1 Extreme Ironing Championship" then! McLaren not expected to do well in that particular league...
Looks like a W02 with a new nose to me...
The new Ferrari has a higher nose than old, FIA regulations at their very best 
For those interested that picture comes from here and the link has a caption explaining all the numbered differences. It says that Ferrari have achieved the higher nose despite the regulations by using the maximum permitted chassis height.
Does anyone know the advantages/disadvantages of raising the chassis? Does it mean, for example, that the Ferrari's ride height will be higher or does it simply mean they have a larger chassis?
Does anyone know the advantages/disadvantages of raising the chassis? Does it mean, for example, that the Ferrari's ride height will be higher or does it simply mean they have a larger chassis?
tranquility2k9
Podium Finisher
I'm no expert but im pretty sure it means a higher CoG (center of gravity). This is not a good thing, however, they have chosen the pull-rod front suspension to counter this as that helps to give a lower CoG. In this sense they have managed to have a high nose but still keep relatively low CoG, so they've out-smarted all of the other stepped nose users and even McLaren in a way because McLaren argue one of the main reasons for them having a low nose, which is not as good aerodynamically is to have a low CoG.
Some preview shots of the Mercedes prior to tomorrow's official launch: http://www.f1today.nl/fotos/19621.html
It's backside looks ridiculously tightly packaged. Looks pretty aggressive so I'm interested to see how it goes.
That's even uglier than the last two monstrosities that Merc have produced. The last good looking car they made was white and yellow.
That front wing design really is becoming common, now Red Bull (they were the first to run it), Ferrari, Force India and Mercedes are using it.
Do you mean the half-egg timer shape? Sorry, I don't know how better to describe it.
I thought last years car was one of the best out there, if not the best...
Must just have a weird taste I suppose
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