MCLAREN PAPAYA RACER WITH NEW POWER
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claren bosses say Renault’s engine concept has the potential to give it the leap up the grid the squad needs, despite the short timeframe it had to redesign its new challenger.
The Woking team headed straight for Navarra Circuit in Spain for a shakedown filming day after releasing images and technical details of its new papaya orange MCL33 last Friday.
The new car will house a Renault unit for the first time in the team’s history after it ended its troubled relationship with Honda after three fruitless seasons. It is the first time Mclaren has used a French engine since its short relationship with Peugeot in 1994.
With the switch to Renault units only confirmed last September – after a complex four-way negotiation involving Mclaren, Renault, Honda and its new partner for this term Toro Rosso – the team was left with little time to make adjustments for the new powertrain.
“The change [in power unit supplier] was a big deal,” said Tim Goss, Mclaren’s technical boss. “Even though the regulations state that the front and rear engine mounts need to be the same for every manufacturer, the layout of the engine, and its architecture, is very different.
“There are two families of engine concept out there; the Mercedes and Honda concept, with the compressor at the front of the engine, turbine at the back, MGU-H sat in the vee [of the engine block]; and the Ferrari and Renault approach, where the turbocharger is sat at the back and the MGU-H sits forward into the vee.
“Each of these approaches has its pros and cons, but I’m actually quite a fan of the Renault approach. Making the switch has had a big impact on the installation of the engine. The advantage of the Renault engine means we can push the engine forwards, but then you have the compressor at the back of the engine, so you’ve got the outlet pipes forward without impacting the packaging.
“We had to redesign the back of the chassis, the gearbox and bell-housing area, the rear suspension and the cooling layout. That was two weeks of intense effort to get right. Now we have a very tidy packaging solution – the gearbox and rear suspension designers did an unbelievable job. This year we wanted a neat and tidy packaging solution. That gives the aerodynamicists more scope to play with the bodywork.”
Mclaren boss Zak Brown claimed he saw this as “the year Mclaren will move closer to the front, fighting teams and drivers as we improve our fortunes”.
Mclaren Racing director Eric Boullier said: “The design, engineering and aerodynamic departments have done an incredible job delivering a new car, with a new power unit in an extremely short timeframe. We never took the easy route or looked to shortcut a process or solution, and the result is a car that is neat and well-resolved.
“We are under no illusions that it will be difficult to splinter the hegemony at the front, and the midfield will be full of well-funded, experienced outfits with plenty to prove. We are humble about the challenge ahead, but we’ve prepared well, have a solid package that we can build upon and exploit as the season goes on. Plus we have two excellent drivers who can prove the difference in the races.
“At Mclaren, we are racers – pure and simple. We’re going to come out pushing from the start.”