McLaren new Design for MP4-17

[aquaism]

will it be a better car package since newey must've been try to get his expertise back???

i hope MP4-17 will kill F-2002 or FW23...

any opinion???

[Flatjack]

I hope so to.

but we will just have to wait and see. I am looking forward to seeing the new McLaren and Ferrari.

[Total-F1]

It's not the car there are going to be issues over - the Mercedes engine last season was way behind the BMW and Ferrari - we know that Newey can churn out a good car...it's up to Haug and the lads to pull their fingers out with the powerplant

[aquaism]

correct I hope ILMOR will do a better job this year

forza McLaren

[Dino IV]

There seems to be some hopeless problem with the new ilmor. Alledgedly one of Ilien's employees was sacked because of it. Now we only need to figure out what is wrong with it ...

[Dino IV]

Top the new MP4-17 for 2002
Bottom the MP4-16 of 2001

The lines are marks from the old car in order to make changes visible on the new one. From right to left you'll see vertical lines from:
- the nosecone; notice the new one being slightly longer
- front axle; the wheelbase is the one thing I took for the same to size the pictures.
- undertray beginning; similar position
- steering wheel; moved back about the width of the wheel, so 20-30 mm or so.
- sidepod front face; similar position
- headrest; moved back like the steering wheel
- airbox intake; same move backwards here, hence driveline must be that shorter.
- rear axle
From top to bottom you'll spot two horizontal lines from:
- underside airbox intake; notice it being higher now
- front to rear axle.

What more differences do you spot?

[Luc]

The biggest change in the 17 McLaren is seen on the front pictures.
The lower forward wishbone attachment is used to channel air underneath the car.
Together with the frontwing this will make a low drag high downforce bodywork, I hope and guess.

Also the back end is lowered and smaller so the air around the car will help the underflow to vacate in the back.

On a frontal shot you can easily see the total separation of the airflows around the front section of the car.

(good to find you here, Dino.)

[Dino IV]

Hey Luc, nice to see you again!

The Mac's front suspension is pretty neat engineered indeed. Not that it matters that much in F1 terms of freedom of movement (very, very little) but still geometry wise they did quite an effort to keep that workable and still work out Newey's aerodynamical demands. I wonder how they braced the 'fin'-liuke pick-up points internally. It might be laid out in such a way that it crosses diagonally from down-left to top-right across the tub and vice versa. It also seems to incorporate into the the bargeboards as well.

The rear is still a question-mark to me. Where are the exhausts? The holes on top of the bodywork seems to be finished with paint rather than heat shielded. Furthermore they are quite small, neither do I spot thermal protective foils to the back, so are they still low where they always were the past few years?

[Luc]

The finns are either 'glued' on or are constructed in one piece with the monocoque. The one piece option gives a better stifness of the car but constructionwise it is more difficult.
The 'glued' option is easier but may compromise the overall stiffness.
As far as I know there is no internal connection between both sides.
The barge boards are taken very far to the front and work well together with the frontwing and the front suspension.
I find the front of this car a jewell in the F1 trade.

The rear is never shown in detail but I heard the exhausts are on top were everybody has them nowadays. No idea how they solved the practical problems on the back.