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[Ineluke]

A few more here..

[Ineluke]

[Ineluke]

I think the Renault R31 and the McLaren MP4-26 top the bill for best looking cars of 2011.

[What's Burning?]

I love this team to death but this is the ugliest McLaren I have seen....in my life.

I really hope it makes up for it in laptimes!!!!!

let's get this strait, ugly it's not, radically different side pods, yes... so I'll forgive you for using the "U" word on the car...do you recalls those collections of wings with wheels a few years back? Granted, they're not beautiful but what is beauty if there form following function? It's obvious that the focus of the designs this year is just as aero as last year with the shift coming to how can they maximize air flow tot he scrappy single diffuser to make up for the massive downforce granted by the DDD.

I'll allow you to give your eyes a bit more time to get acclimated tot he new car before you make a snap judgment and start throwing around the "U" word. deal?

[F1er]

F/R Wings last years!!! By the first race there will be 100 more little things added to make it sexy!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope it's fugly and FAST rather than sexy and slow!!!!!!!!!!!!! 09 anyone?

[F1er]

Afterall it's Lewis' baby..............He dont do ugly chicks

[Mr.Conte]

Looks like most have done their CFD work very well.
McClaren has done a good job of hiding the car from the wind.
Seems like all have made some serious inroads within the new rules.
Again, whoever can drive harder throughout the turns will dominate.
I really don't feel the moveable rear wing, the way it will be introduced will do anything positive with the possibility of making passing of the back marker cars easier.

[What's Burning?]

Why did the F150 get its own thread and we have to discuss the MP4-26 in the common car launch thread?

So it's pretty clear that to make up for the massive difference the DDD made to the 2010 cars, the manufacturers are focused on getting as much clean air to the back of the car as possible, that's why we're seeing the almost naked rears in cars like the Williams and the Ferrari.

So the way to do that is either to get more (faster air) over the top of the car or slower more disrupted air beneath the car to create the low pressure necessary to push down the rear. From an engineering perspective you can do one, or the other, or both, but this being F1 there are a number of other factors to think about, like mechanical design and or course weight and balance. So McLaren are clearly focusing on getting as much clean air, as quickly and directly as possible to push down, while others are focusing on getting assisted air to the rear with the exhaust or in the case of Renault, disrupting the airflow below the car to create a lower pressure instead.

One thing is for sure, these designs will not be readily copied by anyone. So if they work, they'll maintain that advantage for quite some time.

The attached clearly shows the HUGE channels created by the design of the side pods to allow a tremendous amount of CLEAN air to the rear for the diffuser.

[Hammer278]

I love this team to death but this is the ugliest McLaren I have seen....in my life.

I really hope it makes up for it in laptimes!!!!!

let's get this strait, ugly it's not, radically different side pods, yes... so I'll forgive you for using the "U" word on the car...do you recalls those collections of wings with wheels a few years back? Granted, they're not beautiful but what is beauty if there form following function? It's obvious that the focus of the designs this year is just as aero as last year with the shift coming to how can they maximize air flow tot he scrappy single diffuser to make up for the massive downforce granted by the DDD.

I'll allow you to give your eyes a bit more time to get acclimated tot he new car before you make a snap judgment and start throwing around the "U" word. deal?

Geez, whats the deal here? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I dont care if McLaren launch an elephant (literally) I'll still support them!

My eyes were acclimated for a good 10-15 minutes in all angles using the 3D viewing template on the official site, so thanks for your offer. I think its definitely NOT one of the better looking cars out there but I'm pretty sure there's a few tricks up their sleeves which made them develop those horrendous sidepods on the car. I look forward to the 'revealing' on the racetrack.

[What's Burning?]

I love this team to death but this is the ugliest McLaren I have seen....in my life.

I really hope it makes up for it in laptimes!!!!!

let's get this strait, ugly it's not, radically different side pods, yes... so I'll forgive you for using the "U" word on the car...do you recalls those collections of wings with wheels a few years back? Granted, they're not beautiful but what is beauty if there form following function? It's obvious that the focus of the designs this year is just as aero as last year with the shift coming to how can they maximize air flow tot he scrappy single diffuser to make up for the massive downforce granted by the DDD.

I'll allow you to give your eyes a bit more time to get acclimated tot he new car before you make a snap judgment and start throwing around the "U" word. deal?

Geez, whats the deal here? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I dont care if McLaren launch an elephant (literally) I'll still support them!

My eyes were acclimated for a good 10-15 minutes in all angles using the 3D viewing template on the official site, so thanks for your offer. I think its definitely NOT one of the better looking cars out there but I'm pretty sure there's a few tricks up their sleeves which made them develop those horrendous sidepods on the car. I look forward to the 'revealing' on the racetrack.

I was afraid to load the viewer add on that the site wanted to load, I just didn't want another viewer on my browser so I don't have the advantage of the 3D view and will wait for more pics to surface. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I'm glad you took the time before posting, but I'm beholding a different yardstick than you on this one.

[Hammer278]

Fair enough! I'm glad in a way to see this car is very different, meaning it has potential to be the most innovative car on track. This is the team which innovated the F-duct, and I look forward to pleasant surprises from them when the cars start lapping in anger.

[What's Burning?]

I will say it looks like the McLaren launch was VERY cool, they brought out a skeleton of the car, and then build out the car piece by piece placing each aero component on it one at a time... a good job of showmanship, it would have been fantastic to see the thing being put together. Because of this, there are A LOT of great images floating around. Like this one.

[Hammer278]

McLaren pieced together their sleek new Formula One car bit by bit at a public launch but made sure their secrets stayed well out of sight of curious rivals.

The last of the big teams to roll out their new car, the Mercedes-powered team took the show to the fans with the silver racer assembled in front of a crowd of fans in the Potsdamer Platz near the old Berlin Wall.

Wheels, pieces of bodywork and even the steering wheel were carried through the crowd by team members before being attached in near silence before a final blast of wheel guns completed the task with a flourish.

However the engine and exhausts on display were only fake parts and team bosses recognised that the car they would race in the season-opener in Bahrain on March 13 would look very different.

"This is the first time we have seen the car all together," 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, shivering in his race overalls, told the crowd before throwing caps to them and signing autographs.

"I've been here since 2007 and every year the car always looks beautiful... to really see it come out as a whole, I think it looks fantastic.

"I hope it does translate to a good feeling on the track, I'm pretty sure it will...I think we will be quite a lot stronger this year."

"This is our new baby," added 2009 champion and fellow Briton Jenson Button. "This is the car that hopefully will take one of us to win the drivers' World Championship and also the constructors'."

The car had been eagerly awaited, particularly by rivals curious to see whether the 2010 runners-up had something revolutionary up their sleeves.

While boasting distinctive U-shaped sidepods, the car failed to give away anything too sensational.

"Be warned, you haven't seen it all," team principal Martin Whitmarsh said with a smile. "Quite naturally, we haven't shown you or our competitors our full hand today."

The season will see five champions on the starting grid, including Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, the 23-year-old who performed in front of far bigger Berlin crowds on his return with the title last year.

Both Red Bull and Mercedes, the team of Vettel's compatriot and seven-times champion Michael Schumacher, presented their cars at the Valencia circuit in Spain on Tuesday before the first test of the season.

__________________________________________________

That's what I want to read Martin!! Look forward to the McLaren revenge starting from Bahrain!!!

[nish2280]

I cant believe people found THAT impressive? It was so lame and boring, I honestly cant think of a worse way to launch a car!

They try to make it look as if normal people are bringing the pieces of the car over when you obviously know its just some Macca crew in disguise or some people they paid.
Even when putting it together it was so casual, as if they really didnt care.

I would have expected some guys to come flying down on parachutes, crawling through the floor and breaking through windows just to deliver the pieces, but instead they all just walk over and bolt it together.

It was just awkward.

What i would have done is. Have Lewis or Jens drive the skeleton of the car over, do a few donuts so that we can see what an F1 car looks like naked and running and then bolt on all the pieces as if they were doing it in a pitstop. Now that would have been cool.

[What's Burning?]

I cant believe people found THAT impressive? It was so lame and boring, I honestly cant think of a worse way to launch a car!

They try to make it look as if normal people are bringing the pieces of the car over when you obviously know its just some Macca crew in disguise or some people they paid.
Even when putting it together it was so casual, as if they really didnt care.

I would have expected some guys to come flying down on parachutes, crawling through the floor and breaking through windows just to deliver the pieces, but instead they all just walk over and bolt it together.

It was just awkward.

What i would have done is. Have Lewis or Jens drive the skeleton of the car over, do a few donuts so that we can see what an F1 car looks like naked and running and then bolt on all the pieces as if they were doing it in a pitstop. Now that would have been cool.

If you spent a little more time reading and a lot less time talking, you'll get better grades in school.