FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[Mikep99]

McLaren do seem to now have the edge over Ferrari.
I wonder if this is the secret ?

If it is and it's true, kudos to McLaren for the innovation.

McLaren’s secret weapon?
http://f1.automoto365.com/news/controller.php?lang=en&theme=default&month=7&year=2008&nextMode=GpNewsForm&news_id=32239
It appears as if McLaren’s new steering wheel could be behind the Woking based squad’s recent surge in form with Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen going from struggling to keep up with their rivals at Ferrari in France a month ago to winning back to back dominating victories at Silverstone and Hockenheim.
Hamilton won by over a minute in the rain soaked British Grand prix, and although he wasn’t miles ahead in Germany, he would have been if not for a safety car and the team’s decision not to pit when the rest of the field did. Instead he came in under green flag conditions several laps later, only to make his way back from fifth to first, with a few seconds to spare in just sixteen laps.
Although there is no doubt about Hamilton’s driving finesse, the domination we have seen in these recent races has left other teams scratching their heads, but it claims by the Telegraph are to be believed, the answer is quite simple.
It appears as if the MP4-23’s steering wheel is a little different from its rivals with four paddle levels instead of the regular two. Two being to change gears and the two additional levers used to adjust engine torque to suit the gear selected, helping to minimize wheel spin in slow corners but retaining speed for the fast ones. The rules indicate that drivers can not select gears and torque settings in one move, so the extra two levers must be used for the car to remain legal.
Just how long it will be before other teams use this technology, or the FIA bans it, is anyone’s guess, but if it is the reason for their upward turn in performance, you can bet it won’t take Ferrari too long to be right up there with them!

[8-ball]

Well that is certainly an innovative piece of equipment and if it is the reason then Ferrari will copy it no doubt.

[Mikep99]

Another article

McLaren's four-paddle steering wheel for traction:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/07/21/smpoin121.xml
McLaren's steering wheel features four paddle levers rather than the usual two. The upper two are conventional gear-change paddles, one for upshifting, one for down. The lower two allow different engine torque settings to be chosen. Using two fingers at the same time allows the car always to have the most favourable engine torque setting for each gear, thus giving the driver a tool for limiting wheelspin out of slow corners without then suffering a reduction in power in the higher gears, where wheelspin is not an issue. The rules stipulate that any change in torque settings cannot be triggered by the same driver input as a gear change. Having two separate levers gets around that rule, while still allowing the change of gear and torque setting to take place simultaneously. This is part of McLaren's current performance superiority over Ferrari.

[McLaren Fan]

It's a good innovation and well within the technical regulations. It would not surprise me to see Ferrari start their gurning as is usual and get the thing banned, as they have done with other legal devices in the past. The new steering wheel is not the only reason for McLaren's upturn in form anyway. A lot of other work has gone with the aerodynamics, suspension etc. (the latter improving traction). Now, where is the journalist and/or journalist who released this article? I've never wanted to punch one so much since Darren Heath.

[bud]

pretty sure this has been on the car since round 1 that image you see there is by almagalm who produce pricey replica models. and thats been for sale like i said for a while now

[McLaren Fan]

pretty sure this has been on the car since round 1 that image you see there is by almagalm who produce pricey replica models. and thats been for sale like i said for a while now

So it is. I just looked on the e-shop. Still, I think the article has some relevance, for I'm not sure people knew what the extra two paddles were used for. It also goes to show that McLaren have made a lot of inroads on the traction problem using other development projects.

[bud]

want to buy a 1/8th scale car for 8K?

remember the oil secret weapon story? the thing is every new part is important as the next you cant pin it down to one development change that has brought the pace.

[scotty]

I thought this was their secret weapon?

http://www.forumula1.net/2008/f1/f1-news/mclarens-secret-weapon/

[Mikep99]

McLaren’s technical innovations have put the MP4/23 ahead of the pack
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2008/07/21/mclarens-technical-innovations-have-put-the-mp423-ahead-of-the-pack/#more-7605

McLaren have made a clear step forward in performance in the last two races and Ferrari have struggled to compete.
What has made McLaren so competitive all of a sudden? Like every other team they constantly develop their car through the season but three particular changes seem to have made a significant different: a new front wing, an unusual sidepod development, and a clever traction system that’s got everyone talking.
Front wing



McLaren revised its front wing at Magny-Cours and again at Silverstone. With up to six different elements - four on the main plane, two on the ‘bridge’ - it is among the most complex.
At Magny-Cours the team added two vertical sections underneath the wing next to each endplate and flattened the profile of the endplates as well.
At Silverstone McLaren split the lower front part of the wing and changed how it connects to the nose. According to F1.com: “This new configuration increases downforce but more importantly diminishes the front end’s sensitivity to load variations, thus improving the stability of its aero balance.”

Sidepods



One of the more unusual looking developments of the past two races has been an asymmetric side pod layout. When viewed from the front you can clearly see Hamilton’s right-hand sidepod opens far wider than the one on his left.
He ran with this configuration during the German Grand Prix although Kovalainen did not. Kovalainen did test the layout on Friday, however. It was also used at Silverstone.
The sidepod with the smaller aperture can be used when the engine requires less cooling. It is more effective in directing the air flow around the car.

Traction shift

One of the most interesting and potentially controversial developments on the MP4/23 is a new system to improve traction. The steering wheel has an extra two paddles next to the gear shifts which allow the drivers to optimise the engine torque for each corner.
Mark Hughes in the Daily Telegraph explains how it works:
The lower two allow different engine torque settings to be chosen. Using two fingers at the same time allows the car always to have the most favourable engine torque setting for each gear, thus giving the driver a tool for limiting wheelspin out of slow corners without then suffering a reduction in power in the higher gears, where wheelspin is not an issue.
We saw earlier in the season McLaren in general and Lewis Hamilton in particular suffering with tyre wear. After the British Grand Prix Heikki Kovalainen admitted he had not done as well as Hamilton in managing his tyres. Was that because Hamilton had got up to speed on the new system more quickly?
The developments is interesting for all sorts of other reasons. Will rival teams copy it or try to protest it? (Most likely they’ll try the first and resort to the second if they can’t do it).
If it is protested, might the FIA decide it goes against the spirit of the rule banning traction control?

What’s next?

In German Grand Prix testing at the Hockenheimring the team tried a ’shark fin’ extended rear engine cover as Red Bull, Williams, Renault and Force Infia have been using.
That may make an appearance at the Hungaroring along with other mechanical and aerodynamic revisions the team is expected to test at Jerez this week.

Ron Dennis expects the team to be strong at the Hungaroring:

[KyrosV]

interesting you say LH was racing with some of those parts on Sunday and HK was not. Kinda blows the mclaren lambs theory that they both have the same car out of the window some what...

[racechick]

McLaren's secret weapon................LEWIS!!

[bud]

interesting you say LH was racing with some of those parts on Sunday and HK was not. Kinda blows the mclaren lambs theory that they both have the same car out of the window some what...

did you purposfully misread the part He ran it on Friday... and i recall Kovi using it in GP GB as well

[KyrosV]

interesting you say LH was racing with some of those parts on Sundayand HK was not. Kinda blows the mclaren lambs theory that they both have the same car out of the window some what...

did you purposfully misread the part He ran it on Friday... and i recall Kovi using it in GP GB as well

did you 'purposfully' misread my comment clever d!ck..

[bud]

interesting you say LH was racing with some of those parts on Sundayand HK was not. Kinda blows the mclaren lambs theory that they both have the same car out of the window some what...

did you purposfully misread the part He ran it on Friday... and i recall Kovi using it in GP GB as well

did you 'purposfully' misread my comment clever d!ck..

clever sausage what you rekn they said NA NA NA Heikki thats too good for you even after he raced with it in GP GB?? obviously the component had an impact on Heikki's setup. Im not quite sure what the air intake solution they have is for but it could affect the performance of the engine thus the gear ratios and Heikkis ratio setup might not function optimally with it on.

[AKR]

McLaren's secret weapon................LEWIS!!

ummm but that isn't really a secret. A secret is something that no one knows of but them. (McLaren). We all know of Lewis Hamilton's talent.