MP4-2 1 is the last racing car built for McLaren by legendary designer adrian newey, chief designer Mike Coughland, aerodynamic development director Peter Prodromou and vehicle project director Nicholas Bassis. But now three of these four people have left McLaren. Newey and Proderon went to Red Bull, while Dunn Bassis returned to Maranello.
Because of such a massive brain drain, people are worried about the future of McLaren, but McLaren also pulled back last Friday: it poached Rob Taylor from Red Bull. Of course, Taylor is certainly not as famous as Newway. He is the chief designer of Red Bull RB 1. However, according to insider's speculation, Taylor's joining has a lot to do with Coughland, because they used to be friends.
At present, the chief engineer of MP4-2 1 is Tim Goss, who will lead the development of new cars throughout the season. What is certain, however, is that MP4-2 1 will certainly face greater challenges in the process of growth without the support of Master Neway and new car makers. Like Renault, McLaren's new car development plan is that two teams take turns to go into battle. Pat Fry, the chief engineer of MP4-20 last season, has now started the MP4-22 project.
Second, technical highlights: from MP4-20
Jonathan Neale, managing director of McLaren, once said that 90% of the whole system of MP4-2 1 and1KLOC-0/500 body parts was developed from MP4-20.
1, pointed nose cone
The first characteristic of MP4-2 1 different from the old cars is that the nose cone is thinner and drops sharply, giving people the impression that it comes from radical MP4- 19. But if you look closely, you will find that these are two completely different ideas. The nose cone of MP4- 19 simply bends downward, and the airflow is guided from below the nose cone, but from below the front wing.
When the nose cone of MP4-2 1 bends downward, the tip of the nose cone inclines upward. Cooperate with the V-shaped front fender (the front fender of MP4- 19 is W-shaped) to introduce more airflow into the underbody. The nose cone of MP4-20 shrinks sharply from the front suspension position to the tip, which is very slender. The main advantage of this is to reduce the windward area of the nose cone and reduce the wind resistance coefficient, but the slender nose cone is more difficult to pass the impact test of FIA.
Two other noteworthy details of the front wing are that the bottom plate is bent downward. In order to meet the requirement of introducing more airflow, the hinge pieces of the nose cone and the main wing plate are made into a figure of eight, which is also beneficial to improve the link strength.
2. Optimize the airflow transmission of the front suspension.
The improvement after MP4-2 1 front wing mainly focuses on the front suspension, and the further development of 0 keel makes the chassis rise higher, which opens a smoother passage for introducing more airflow into the underbody. At the same time, the lower fork arm of the front suspension becomes more slender; The new rules require increasing the height of the deflector between the front wheel and the side box, and McLaren's solution is to simplify the structure of this part.
At present, MP4-2 1 mainly has two deflector plates at this position, one is a deflector plate (with complicated shape) linked to the forearm root of the lower fork arm, and the other is a side box deflector erected on the chassis airflow closure plate through the horizontal support arm. Among them, in order to maintain the installation strength of the former, an arm extends forward from the chassis airflow sealing plate to connect with it.
3. Superstreamlined side box
Because the cooling requirement of V8 engine is reduced by about 15%, the size of radiator is also reduced by about 15%, which enables engineers to tighten the side box. Seen from the front, the air inlet of the MP4-2 1 side box has been compressed into a triangle, and the whole body is V-shaped. This allows the airflow in the side box baffle to flow smoothly from the lower part of the side box to the rear of the car. McLaren's airflow control in this position is ahead of all competitors.
However, because the Mercedes-Benz engine was burned many times last season, McLaren still did not dare to dissipate heat. The MP4-2 1 chimney has little change from the old cars, and the hood of the engine exhaust pipe does not tightly wrap the exhaust pipe like Renault, but leaves a huge gap to help dissipate heat. In addition, during the new car test, McLaren also focused on testing the side box cover with cooling gills.
4. A more reasonable tail fin of gearbox fairing
The airflow efficiency of MP4-2 1 the last section of the car body (behind the engine) is further improved. At present, the gearbox fairing consists of three parts, the upper part of which is connected with the hood, so that it is easier to remove and adjust the torsion bar and shock absorber. The left and right pieces are connected with the side box cover, so that the transmission shaft protrudes from the hole.
Behind the gearbox fairing, connected with it is the tail impact structure-coccyx, which is a foldable structure with an energy-absorbing bag to protect the driver's safety by absorbing the impact energy. According to the rules of the new season, the speed of coccyx impact test has been increased from 12 m/s to 15 m/s, so it can be seen from the appearance that each team has lengthened the coccyx. The coccygeal vertebra of MP4-2 1 not only meets higher safety requirements.
Generally speaking, the cross section of coccyx is rectangular, or slightly V-shaped below (V-shaped can improve strength); However, in order to better transfer the airflow above the hood, McLaren shaped the caudal vertebra into a fin shape with the end tilted upward, which is unique among the ten teams. And the signal lamp installed at its end has become very special.
5, adhere to their own tail installation method.
Surprisingly, MP4-2 1 does not use the vertical support arm erected on the coccyx to fix the tail like Honda, but continues to use the end plates located at both ends of the cross brace of the herringbone tail, but in order to meet the strength requirements, this will inevitably add extra weight.
On the other hand, the connection between the MP4-2 1 transmission shaft and the car body is the same as other teams, and no fairing is installed, and the upper fork arm is installed slightly higher than the transmission half shaft. In order to ensure the strength of both ends of the diffuser, two steel cables are used to pull diagonally. Like MP4-20, the cooling and ventilation pipes of the rear brake should be exposed to the outside as far as possible within the scope permitted by the rules.
Third, the engine: worrying ills
The first design of Mercedes-Benz V8 engine will be held in August 2004, which is the starting point of the new engine. The internal code is Mercedes-Benz FO 108S. Where 08 represents the number of cylinders, and s is the number after FO 1 10R. V8 engine was first tested on the bench in June 2005. Three months later, it was hastily assembled on MP4-20 and tested at Silverstone.
The subsequent testing work is relatively hidden. It was not until the appearance of1MP4-2 1 on October 23rd that the public began to really pay attention to the performance of the new engine. Unexpectedly, FO 108S failed to play with the new chassis for the first time: when Delarossa completed the maiden voyage of the new car in Barcelona, the engine only ran 19 laps and then went on strike. Mercedes later said there was something wrong with the oil pressure.
The next day, Montoya ran 87 laps in Barcelona in his new car, about 4 10 km. After the test drive, the Colombian said: The new car is full of confidence, but the Mercedes-Benz engine still has room for improvement. A day later, the new car was handed over to Raikkonen. Finns ran smoothly in the morning, but in the afternoon, they found that the gearbox leaked oil, which "smeared" the first impression of the new car in the minds of Finnish Iceman. In addition, the engine of MP4-20 driven by teammate Rosa exploded that day, which made Raikkonen furious with Mercedes-Benz: the engine is the biggest problem of the team! When asked how many races McLaren needs to improve its competitiveness, the Finn angrily said, "I don't know, ask Mercedes!" "
The problems of the first batch of V8 engines of Mercedes-Benz are poor reliability, and the output power is far from that of its rivals. The driver's complaints put a lot of pressure on Mercedes-Benz. On February 8, the first day of a new round of testing in Jerez, Mercedes-Benz introduced an improved version of this engine. The new power plant was not installed until 1 in the afternoon, and Montoya became the first power driver to experience the new engine. According to industry reports, the output power of the new engine has increased by as much as 60 horsepower, mainly by improving the piston head and crankshaft. Even so, Delarossa said: It still lags behind Renault and Honda, and may even lag behind Ferrari. On February 16, Robert Haug, the motor sports director of McLaren, also publicly admitted that the engine development was backward and faced with many problems? This makes people wonder when Mercedes-Benz will eradicate the weakness of the engine. Was Kimi Raikkonen's V8 lap record set last Friday just a flash in the pan? Nobody knows.
Technical parameters of MP4-2 1
Model code MP4-2 1 engine code Mercedes-Benz FO 108S
Number of cylinders formed by aluminum composite honeycomb mold for chassis 8
Double wishbone fuel Mobil 1 unleaded gasoline in front and rear suspension.
Shock absorber McLaren Lubricant Mobil 1 Products
Electronic system mclaren control system engine mass 95 kg.
Tire supplier Michelin steering wheel McLaren power steering
Radio communication Kenwood gearbox seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox (1 reverse gear)
Hub supplier Enkai transmission shaft McLaren
Battery supplier GSYuasaCorporation Clutch Manual Disc Clutch
Schedule II: MP4-2 1 Development Schedule
Development project content time
The First Engine Design Conference in August 2004
Engine specifications were first released in June 2004.
The design of MP4-2 1 started in April 2005.
The first design meeting in April 2005
Gear box simulation mid-April 2005
The competition specification was first introduced in May 2005.
The gearbox was first planned in May 2005.
The first bench test of V8 engine in June 2005
The wind tunnel test began in early July 2005.
The first drawing of gearbox in July 2005.
The final specifications and dimensions were released in August 2005.
The first track test of V8 engine in September 2005
Gearbox production began in September 2005.
Chassis manufacturing started on May 38, 2005+10.
Chassis model preparation: June 2005165438+1October.
The initial engine model was prepared for June 5438+065438+ 10, 2005.
The final engine model will be launched from June 5 to February 5, 2005.
The first chassis is ready for assembly. June 5438, 2005+February
FIA tested the first chassis on June 5438+February 2005.
The assembly of the first racing car began in February 2005.
The first racing car was assembled in February 2005.
MP4-2 1 First Tracking Test 65438+20061October 23rd
The first racing car was sent from the technical center to the first race on March 3, 2006.