So we saw a McLaren car that was strong in Spa, possibly even stronger than when we last saw a McLaren 1-2, in Montreal. They really did seem to be the pick of the bunch for that race.
Obviously quite a lot of this will be down to the track characteristics, with Sectors 1 and 3 favouring the high powered and slick McLaren Mercedes. Other contributing factors may well be loss of performance on the RBR and Ferrari through forced changes to the their front wing, although we may well not see clear evidence for this until Singapore in a months time.
However, one question that I have to ask is, "Have McLaren finally got their exhaust blown diffuser working correctly?" If so, is this also a contributing factor to the McLarens strong form in Spa?
After Martin Bundle pointed this out on the coverage, the sound coming from the McLaren became very clear to me, a deep rumble that seemed to sound as they lifted from the throttle. Now Martin Brundle was absolutely convinced that this was them overburning, or feeding the diffuser with exhaust gasses when off the throttle. A technique that RBR pioneered, but supposedly only for use in qualifying.
To me it seemed like the McLaren's were doing this throughout the entire race. I wonder if this is actually similar to the RBR methods for gaining those extra tenths in qualifying, and if so, how they have managed to get it to work on the car throughout the entire race distance.
Looking at the sector times, as you would expect, the McLaren were the fastest cars through sectors 1 and 3, with RBR taking sector 2. The good news for McLaren is that in Sector 2 they managed quicker times than Ferrari, and were only 3 tenths off the Red Bull pace. Obviously these times may be compromised somewhat with McLaren able to run higher wing levels due to the optimised F-duct, but they should take solace from the fact that they are quicker than Ferrari in the aero of the track where efficient downforce matters most.
It is clear though, at last to me, that McLaren have finally found some performance in their car, which seems to be from their EBD, rather that totally due to track characteristics, or performance loss from their rivals. With 4 more weeks to go until Singapore, and a major update planned for that race, McLaren seem to have both the time, and plans in place to gain on their rivals, in the traditionally poor areas of their car this season. Especially as RBR and Ferrari may well have to spend a week redesigning their floor and wings to confirm with the new FIA tests due for Monza.
Obviously quite a lot of this will be down to the track characteristics, with Sectors 1 and 3 favouring the high powered and slick McLaren Mercedes. Other contributing factors may well be loss of performance on the RBR and Ferrari through forced changes to the their front wing, although we may well not see clear evidence for this until Singapore in a months time.
| Position | Sector 1 | Time |
| 1 | L Hamilton | 31.093 |
| 2 | J Button | 31.112 |
| 3 | F Massa | 31.182 |
| 4 | R Kubica | 31.206 |
| 5 | A Sutill | 31.298 |
| Position | Sector 2 | Time |
| 1 | S Vettel | 45.493 |
| 2 | M Webber | 45.608 |
| 3 | L Hamilton | 45.915 |
| 4 | R Barriche | 46.052 |
| 5 | J Button | 46.055 |
| Position | Sector 3 | Time |
| 1 | L Hamilton | 28.500 |
| 2 | J Button | 28.605 |
| 3 | F Massa | 28.673 |
| 4 | A Sutill | 28.733 |
| 5 | R Kubica | 28.791 |
After Martin Bundle pointed this out on the coverage, the sound coming from the McLaren became very clear to me, a deep rumble that seemed to sound as they lifted from the throttle. Now Martin Brundle was absolutely convinced that this was them overburning, or feeding the diffuser with exhaust gasses when off the throttle. A technique that RBR pioneered, but supposedly only for use in qualifying.
To me it seemed like the McLaren's were doing this throughout the entire race. I wonder if this is actually similar to the RBR methods for gaining those extra tenths in qualifying, and if so, how they have managed to get it to work on the car throughout the entire race distance.
Looking at the sector times, as you would expect, the McLaren were the fastest cars through sectors 1 and 3, with RBR taking sector 2. The good news for McLaren is that in Sector 2 they managed quicker times than Ferrari, and were only 3 tenths off the Red Bull pace. Obviously these times may be compromised somewhat with McLaren able to run higher wing levels due to the optimised F-duct, but they should take solace from the fact that they are quicker than Ferrari in the aero of the track where efficient downforce matters most.
It is clear though, at last to me, that McLaren have finally found some performance in their car, which seems to be from their EBD, rather that totally due to track characteristics, or performance loss from their rivals. With 4 more weeks to go until Singapore, and a major update planned for that race, McLaren seem to have both the time, and plans in place to gain on their rivals, in the traditionally poor areas of their car this season. Especially as RBR and Ferrari may well have to spend a week redesigning their floor and wings to confirm with the new FIA tests due for Monza.
But we can't ignore the evidence of our ears, the engine was overburning a lot of the time! 
)
