Technical analysis: McLaren MP4-30

The McLaren-Honda MP4-30 was the most anticipated of the 2015 Formula 1 cars, and its launch did not disappoint - with the design clearly different from both the '14 McLaren and all the other new cars unveiled so far.

It has benefited from Honda designing a bespoke power unit for McLaren's requirements and its aerodynamics being developed over the winter by ex-Red Bull aero chief Peter Prodromou, resulting in a far tidier rear end packaging and a (so far) unique long nose to meet the revised regulations.

McLAREN'S TOUGH 2014

Last year's MP4-29 did not prove as well suited to the new regulations and power units as other teams' designs.

Even with the powerful Mercedes engine, the McLaren lacked top speed. This was partly down to the dramatic rear suspension fairings designed to regain downforce lost from the banning of the middle beam wing. While no doubt effective for downforce, the mushroom shaped suspension fairings added a lot of drag.

Aerodynamics were further hindered by downforce found in the windtunnel not translating to the track, which made the car 'peaky' and inconsistent to drive.

Part of the winter restructure was to bring Prodromou from Red Bull to re-organise aerodynamic design and operations, but his arrival late in 2014 meant this could not be a truly clean-sheet design for the new signing. Many major structures would have been defined in production under Tim Goss and Matt Morris's leadership prior to Prodromou starting.

CHANGES ON THE MP4-30

It's the nose that catches the eye. McLaren has opted for the longest possible nose and a fared tip to avoid having a thumb-like extension.

This longer nose places its under-surface over the front wing to work in conjunction with the wing and its heavily twisted mounting pylons. This combination will be used to create a powerful vortex along the Y250 axis (250mm from the car's centreline) to keep clean airflow over the centre of the car.

The front wing will be a key aerodynamic development area for McLaren this year. The new wing brought to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the last minute after Prodromou began work confirmed that a new direction was required, and some of the concepts from that upgrade will start to appear in pre-season testing.

Aside from the new nose tips, the other technical change to the front of the car for 2015 is a sloped front to the chassis.

This new geometry is evident on the McLaren, as the high, flat top to its chassis slopes steeply just above the drivers' feet. McLaren has chosen to cover this area with a single large access panel, which smoothly merges the chassis top into the nose's upper surface.

This area also houses the camera pods, mounted in the style of the 2014 Mercedes with right-angled mounts to make best aerodynamic use of their mandatory positioning.

The MP4-30's front suspension is a conventional pushrod and double wishbone design, with the steering rack mounted high and aligned with the upper wishbone.

The wishbones are mounted near-horizontal, as also seen on the Lotus, for a conventional geometry with better mechanical grip.

McLaren states that the wishbone features torsion bars, but increasingly teams are exploiting hydraulics, albeit not interconnected as was possible with the now-banned FRIC systems, for the ideal suspension control.

ALL EYES ON HONDA

That the Honda engine packaging is especially low and slim is proven by the cockpit area, where the side padding is set at a regulatory height, but the area around it is shrunken and lowered to improve airflow to the back of the car.

Above the cockpit the rollhoop inlet is split with ducts, with a further two smaller inlets formed below them.

One of the rollhoop ducts will feed the engine's airbox and another is likely to feed the gearbox oil cooler behind the engine, meaning the two small inlets are most likely to feed local cooling air to the electronics around the engine.

Despite the high-profile faults that hampered McLaren's first test with Honda in Abu Dhabi, there are rumours that the engine has a strong power output when compared to the 2014 Mercedes.

The power unit design has followed Mercedes' lead with a split turbo, low heat rejection and tight exhaust packaging, which - along with other Honda-specific details - has allowed McLaren to shrink the bodywork tightly around the rear end.

McLaren has pushed much of the power unit's radiators, intercoolers and oil coolers to the front of the sidepods, meaning the heat from these is vented through a tight coke bottle rear end and through relatively small outlets formed low down over the rear suspension and with a smaller outlet above the exhaust.

When viewed from above, this minimal sidepod size and the open space created ahead of the diffuser are clear to see.

As McLaren required extra openings in the MP4-29's sidepods for the Abu Dhabi test, there must be question marks over whether this launch specification would provide enough cooling for the motor.

FAREWELL TO THE MUSHROOMS?

Attached to the engine is McLaren's own carbon fibre gearbox. This supports the rear suspension, which was a unique feature of the 2014 car. It is suggested that Prodromou was no fan of the mushroom suspension concept, but the wishbones and trackrods are still arranged to place two elements angled back so they are over the diffuser's trailing edge.

These do not have the dramatic fairings attached, on the launch car at least, but panels on the floor suggest these and the small winglet that sits below them could still be fitted for testing.

The new car's suspension arrangement could have predated Prodromou's arrival and as it is a major structural part of the gearbox and rear crash structure, it may have been too late to change it for a more conventional layout.

The theory that the fairings are not part of the aerodynamic plan, despite the suspension arrangement hinting at them, is also supported by the lower position of the sidepod cooling outlets. In their new position they would severely choke the airflow passing over the shaped rear wishbones should that concept return, so it appears unlikely that the 'mushrooms' could work with the new slimmer sidepod concept.

Not unusually for a launch car, the rear of the MP4-30 was missing some key elements - both the rear wing support and the Y100 'monkey seat' winglet were absent in the photos but appeared on the 3D car on the McLaren website.

On the digital model it could be seen that the rear wing was supported by a dog-legged mounting pillar and the monkey seat was mounted to the rear crash structure.

The launch car also featured a rear wing with a serrated leading edge to its flap.

This was a mid-season development in 2014 and it is believed to help the airflow reattach to the wing when the DRS is closed.

It was only raced at certain tracks last year so may be an optional solution in the team's armoury for 2015 rather than a permanent fixture.

Overall the MP4-30 is a step in the right direction for McLaren in design terms, and a little more conventional and back to basics - the new nose notwithstanding.

It's the unseen internal re-organisation that McLaren has undertaken that may be more influential for the team's form this year.

Our the course of a season, management decisions on design directions and working practices are far more critical to finding more speed than the shape of the nose.

Honda's learning curve will also be a key factor, and the fact it is now allowed a limited amount of in-season development will be especially useful when ironing out development issues with a brand new and highly complex power unit.

Don't expect the start of the season to reveal McLaren-Honda's true potential. Judge the team as its development curve catches up with the leaders for it should be much more competitive by the season's end.