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Appearances can be deceptive. To the untrained eye, our Formula 1 challenger 2021 doesn’t look much different than its predecessor, but don’t be fooled. The MCL35M is pretty much a brand new car and who better to guide you through the changes than McLaren F1 Technical Director James Key?
Here’s his take on our latest creation …
Power play
In 2021, we were faced with a unique challenge as the only team-changing drive. And this was made more difficult by Covid-19, which forced the sport to stand still for several months and had a major impact on the way we work. Not only did we have less time to install the engine, we also had to do a lot from home. It took extraordinary efforts from everyone in the team and the excellent support from Mercedes to install a completely different unit than what we had previously used. It’s great to work with Mercedes, they have set the standard with the current generation of F1 engines, but the reality is that the engines in F1 are little different in terms of performance.
The engine is an elementary part of the vehicle architecture and since many Mercedes components such as the engine and energy storage have different geometries compared to last year, we had to virtually redesign the entire car. However, we had to do this in compliance with the homologation rules, which meant that we had taken over elements from last year as far as possible and adapted what we already had to accommodate for the unit. Nevertheless, the switch to Mercedes power has resulted in a new chassis; Transmission; and fuel, hydraulic, electrical, and cooling systems. The wheelbase has also changed: we had to lengthen it a little because the bell housing for the Mercedes engine is longer.
We could have gone further
On the chassis modification, we worked very closely with the FIA to make sure we only changed the bare essentials, but that meant we couldn’t leverage the chassis change as much as we would have liked to improve performance to increase. Although we issued our development tokens for the installation of the unit, it is not fully optimized due to the homologation rules. Without the restrictions for 2021, we would have done it differently.
I am in love with your figure
Much of the body shape is determined by the engine installation, so some of the different shapes you see on this year’s car are due to it. But most of the changes are just logical steps that we would have made with this year’s car without the power unit switch, based on the findings from last year, when the body was very different from before. This year’s bodywork is based on very similar principles to last year and I don’t think that’s going to change during the season because it’s something that is largely defined when you are in the process of defining the vehicle architecture.
Use the (ab) power
These cars deliver a tremendous amount of power and despite a lot of stability in the regulations for this season, it was clear that there was a good opportunity for the teams to take another significant step forward. However, this could potentially be a safety problem, especially on high-speed lines. Therefore, the aerodynamics regulation is changing this year – this includes narrowing the floor in front of the rear tire by 10 cm, banning slots in the floor, shortening the winglets in the lower half of the rear brake ducts by 4 cm and trimming the diffuser fences by 5 cm – is really a safety measure aimed at curbing the performance of the cars by reducing downforce by about 10%.
Although the changes seem very subtle, they have a significant impact. We tried to regain the lost downforce and it was a real challenge. New thinking is required as the geometries required by the regulations are unique and have not been encountered in the past. And while the changes take the downforce away from the rear, it forces you to take some off the front to rebalance the car so that downforce has been reduced globally.
These changes also take place in a very sensitive area of the car – around the rear wheels. Anything related to wheels and airflow, especially on an F1 car, is very complex to understand. It has taken a lot of hard work and learning to get to the solutions we have. There is more to come; It’s an ongoing process to get the most out of these changes and I’m sure that when everyone goes out on the track, we’ll all look at each other’s cars, see different solutions, and there will be a convergence as the season progresses continues.
Small change, big difference
Aerodynamic design in Formula 1 is immensely complex. To the untrained eye, some of the aerodynamic changes we’ve made may seem simple or even trivial compared to last year, but they can have a significant impact on the car’s performance. It’s about constantly optimizing and further developing – not just the car, but also your understanding.
We’re talking about a lot of elements that have to work together in all kinds of conditions on the track – it’s incredibly difficult to get it right. Just look at the bargeboards and deflectors on the front of the car: it almost looks like they grew organically, but a lot of thought has been given to them. It’s not for nothing that every single aerodynamic component has the shape it has and is where it is.
Do I know you?
Parts of the MCL35M, like the nose, look very similar to its predecessor. We had to introduce the new nose concept last year in order to meet the homologation deadline, otherwise we would have had to stick to our concept that we started with in 2020. On the mechanical side, many areas are already closed or will be closed from the first race of the season.
On the other hand, most aerodynamic surfaces are free to develop: things like bargeboards and the front and rear wings. We have worked hard on these areas and will continue to do so throughout the season. There is a lot of room for improvement – to strengthen our strengths and to correct weaknesses.
Fresh rubber
Along with the reduction in downforce, the integrity of the tires has been increased slightly for safety reasons. Pirelli, the FIA and all teams strive to avoid situations like the 2020 British Grand Prix where tires failed. There have been occasions last season on high-speed tracks when it was clear that they were really at the limit.
The stiffening of the construction in the shoulder area has slightly changed the shape of this year’s tires, but it is not a fundamental change and their properties are similar to ours before. There are a few small differences to consider, but the point is to adjust the setup rather than redesigning the car to get the most out of the new tires. I’m sure we’ll find out a lot more about them in the pre-season testing.
Keep an eye on TEAMStream and the McLaren App for more updates on the MCL35M.
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