The COAT - Round One - McLaren MP4-30 vs Williams FW07

[crmalcolm]

The eighteenth match in Round One and we have two candidates from the McLaren and Williams stables again. The McLaren MP4-30 vs the Williams FW07.

McLaren MP4-30 (formula1.com):
The first McLaren-Honda since 1992, MP4-30 signalled a new dawn for the Woking team – in a stunning metallic grey and red livery that echoed better days.

The teardrop shape implied aerodynamic mastery and Eric Boullier remarked that the elegant packaging of the Honda engine was “amazing”.

Racing royalty Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button could only watch as Mercedes ascended the throne for a second title, and McLaren finished ninth in the championship – only ahead of the beleaguered Manor-Marussia squad. That chrome livery was canned after four races, with Ron Dennis preferring black.

From 2017, McLaren decided that the future was bright; the future was orange.

Williams FW07/D (bleacherreport.com):
Another six-wheeler, this time from Williams. While the Tyrell was the original, the Williams took the six-wheel concept and made it much more aesthetically pleasing. Rather than having a huge sets of rear wheels and four (comparatively) tiny fronts, the Williams was more symmetrical, with all the tyres a similar size.

The concept was also different. What the four rear wheels provided was a narrower overall profile for he car, thereby decreasing the drag created by huge rear wheels whilst still increasing the contact patch of the tyres.

The result was huge traction and grip that Williams hoped would compensate for their lack of a turbo engine as used by its competitors.

Through testing, Williams developed modified versions of both the FW07 car and the FW08, both of which showed great promise despite their huge length and weight.

But before the car could even be raced, the FIA announced that all F1 cars should have a maximum of four wheels, and so died the last of the six-wheelers.

[S griffin]

Not sure you’ve picked the best match up. There have been many better McLarens and a few better Williams. No way should the 2015 McLaren be considered. It was an awful car and was nothing like the McLaren-Honda of the glory years, they should have ditched the Honda engine at the beginning

All I remember was it being down on power and being a waste of time for Button and Alonso. McLaren have only just recently recovered from this debacle. One that’s best forgotten. After a good season in 2014, they became an also ran. The less said the better. But it’s good to see McLaren doing better now

Did like the FW07 though, very innovative, especially with 6 wheeler prototype which never raced due to the rules. The FW07 may or may not have been the best car of it’s time, but it was competitive day in day out. So I would choose that over the McLaren, but not the 6 wheeler. As that never raced, you’d go with the McLaren. It’s a moot point if you ask me.

But the FW07 lasted so long and deserves it’s place, even if I don’t think of it is an all time great

[Gerard C]

Well this is for fun, yes? So Williams is the lesser of two evils…

[S griffin]

It’s not exactly satisfactory, although the Williams would be better if it raced