Did McLaren Reveal Design Secrets With 2022 F1 Car Teaser Photos?

Of course, we can’t learn much from what is shown from the angle it was photographed from, but there are some design cues worth mentioning about its first contender built to the new rules will.

The most obvious of these is that the general design of the roll bar and airbox has been carried over from last season, keeping the two angled spars in the center of the assembly but slightly narrowing the circumferential molding at the top.

We can also see the shape and position of the sidepods and their inlet next to the chassis, which appear to have been swapped out for a more conventional, low position.

The decision for this design change was largely driven by the changes in the regulations, whereby the dimensional criteria of the body and also the position of the SIPS (Side Impact Protection Spars) must now be higher than in previous seasons.

Ferrari SF70H side detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

That means the high intake position, introduced in 2017 by Ferrari and all of last season’s challengers, is significantly more difficult to achieve and likely less effective given the altered flow structure that is already emanating from the front of the car.

Particularly in the foreground can be seen that the chassis not only slops but also appears to taper inward, similar to the chassis’ predecessor, suggesting that the team will try to adopt a sleek nose design like it did in recent years Years – but adapted to the new regulatory requirements regarding the nose tip height and the interaction with the front wing elements.

McLaren MCL35M front detail

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

It’s also worth noting that there are some suggestions that teams will be reinstalling drawbar suspensions at the front of the car in 2022 due to several factors. This includes changing the suspension geometry as the upright extensions used in recent seasons have been banned, which will affect the position of the wishbones and therefore the trajectory of the airflows towards the side box inlet, will likely be mounted lower down.

There is also a small CoG (Center of Gravity) benefit that needs to be taken into account in a pull rod layout as more weight is housed at a lower point in the chassis. The loads on the suspension are changed with the introduction of 18-inch rims and low-profile tires.

McLaren used tie-rod front suspension on its MP4 / 28 in 2013 after mimicking a design Ferrari used on the F2012 a year earlier.

While Ferrari continued the design through 2015, McLaren considered the adventure over and reverted to a push-rod layout in 2014. It will be interesting to see if any of the teams venture out on this path again.

Mercedes W12 bracket detail, banned in 2022

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

Ferrari F2012 pull rod front axle vs Red Bull RB8 push rod front axle

Photo by: Giorgio Piola

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