During our rounds this morning we came across this wonderful photo which was published to twitter last night by XPB Images.
It shows a cheeky Lotus engineer snapping a photo of the rear suspension on the McLaren MP4-28. What adds to the image, though, is Jenson Button watching in his wing mirror while McLaren engineers rcae down pit lane to apprehend the Lotus spy.
It’s a simple image in many ways, but has perfectly captured the sense of panic from the McLaren staffers.
[Source: twitter]
Sergio Perez is finding his new digs at McLaren to his liking after putting the MP4-28 in the spotlight in Barcelona overnight.
The Mexican ace set the fastest time in testing on a one lap dash in the afternoon (1:21.848), which was posted on Soft compound tyres.
Once again Sebatsian Vettel and Red Bull were the team to beat in the morning (1:22.197), only to be pipped for the day’s best time in the afternoon session.
Kimi Raikkonen ate ice cream and watched his Lotus mechanics faff about with his gearbox in the morning before being rudely awoken to run 43 laps in the latter part of the day. He still managed the third fastest time (1:22.697).
It’s interesting to note the times from Day 2 are more spread out than yesterday’s, which saw Nico Rosberg head a quarter spread by only 0.35s.
There’s no comments from Perez on McLaren’s official test report, but the team, statement explained the day like this:
“As usual, the morning kicked off with a series of shorter runs, aimed at gaining the engineers a better understanding of the car’s track-to-tunnel aero correlation and its reaction to a series of mechanical set-up changes.
“Into the afternoon, the team ran through a number of longer runs – these were aimed at providing Sergio with a better understanding of the methods and systems that will be used by the race team during a race weekend, including cockpit switch adjustments and understanding radio messaging.”
Ooh, it’s so exciting. The McLaren versus Ferrari road car bitch fight is going to be epic to watch.
Earlier today we brought word the forthcoming Ferrari F150 will be bloody expensive, bloody powerful and bloody exclusive. Now, we can fill you in on some details of the McLaren P1. Like the F150 it uses a hybrid system and all told the P1’s oily and electrical bits combine to produce 903bhp (916PS or 673kW).
How do the McLaren boffins do it? Well we’re glad you asked. The magic of two turbos helps to give the 3.8 litre V8 petrol engine 727bhp, while the lightweight electric motor provides a further 176bhp. All told there is 900Nm of torque to play with as well, 260Nm of that is available instantly thanks to the electric motor.
Of course, we’re not allowed to call it just an electric motor—Ron wouldn’t be so plain—rather we must refer to it as the Instant Power Assist System. It has its own steering wheel button. Also on the wheel is a DRS button which has been inspired by its F1 namesake and reduces drag by 23%.
As you can see from the image above the battery pack for IPAS is mounted forward of the engine. It weighs 96kg and is enveloped by the P1’s carbon fibre MonoCage chassis, helping McLaren keep the system’s overall weight to a minimum.
It looks like we’ll be getting at least one more official P1 update from McLaren before the car makes its full debut in Geneva early next month.
McLaren still hasn’t released any firm performance specifications for its P1 hypercar, but it has released a stunning set of images photographed on the Bahrain International Circuit. And here they are!
The P1 was launched to select clients in Bahrain last month and later this week it will be the turn of the well to do in Dubai who get the fancy canapés and to ooh and ahh at McLaren’s latest creation.
“After a successful launch in Bahrain, we are very excited to be bringing the McLaren P1â„¢ to the United Arab Emirates, where our retail partner, Al Habtoor Motors, has confirmed huge interest in this unique car,” said Mark Harrison, McLaren Automotive Regional Director for the Middle East and Africa.
“This year marks our 50th year anniversary, so it is apt that we are gearing up to launch a car that we feel will redefine the parameters for performance, on both circuit and road. This is why we have released these unique and stunning images, taken at the BIC, a location absolutely fitting for this supercar.â€
Jenson Button (McLaren MP4-28) has set the fastest time on day one of pre-season testing in Jerez overnight. He put early fuel pump issues behind him to set a time of 1:18.861 late in the day. It’s an impressive result, as well, some eight tenths quicker than Mark Webber (Red Bull RB9) who was second quickest.
Speaking after practice had finished for the day Webber said, “It was pretty good. As Adrian said at the launch, there haven’t been big changes to the regulations this year and the car is an evolution of the one we finished with last season, so there were no big surprises. I think most of the drivers will sit back tonight and think today’s times were pretty competitive.”
All timing unofficial
*2012 car
[Pic: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes]
Just like the title says, here is a comparison of the new McLaren MP4-28 and its predecessor the MP4-27. Side on profile and overhead images have been compared, with the 2013 car appearing first.
There are differences, but you do have to look closely!
McLaren is celebrating its 50th birthday this year and to kick off the launch of their 2013 F1 car they dusted off some of their most significant racecars in their proud history to serve as a reminder of the great things the team has achieved in that time. Then, of course, it was time for Jenson Button and Sergio Perez to reveal the MP4-28 for the first time.
Here’s a list of the cars featured in the video:
McLaren has just taken the wraps off its new MP4-28. For the time being they’ve only published a selection of pics from the launch itself. With any luck there’ll be some clean studio images soon showing the car in a better light.
We do have for you a copy of the car’s press pack, available below in PDF form.
We can tell you the MP4-28 is visually very similar to its predecessor, however we’re told it’s a very different car under the skin. Interestingly, the MP4-28 does feature a stepped nose, but it’s hidden beneath a “vanity panel”.
“The MP4-28 isn’t merely a refinement of last year’s seven-race-winning car, it’s a deep and sweeping re-design of an already successful chassis in several key areas—most notably around the nose and front suspension, the sidepod profiles and the rear bodywork,” the official team statement reads.
Of course, as well as a new car, McLaren has a new driver pairing for 2013, with 23-year-old Mexican Sergio Perez to race alongside Jenson Button.
UPDATE: Three new studio images added below.
UPDATE #2: Think the MP4-28 looks just like last year’s car, then watch the new video added below with some great analysis from Peter Winsdor and Craig Scarborough.
World Car Fans brings us a good video showing the McLaren P1 hypercar out and about undergoing some testing. Given we’ve already been given a good look at the exterior of the car at the Paris Motor Show we can probably surmise that there’s some minor changes to the bodywork disguised in all the camouflage.
The video also shows a very brief glimpse of the interior. We get to hear the engine rumble along at leisurely pace as well as seeing the scissor door in action.
Make sure you watch to the end, too, where you’ll see the driver do his best Kimi Raikkonen off-track impression.
[Source: WCF]
No matter how you look at it, Adrian Newey is a legend. He has won F1 championships with three different teams (Williams 1992–94, 1996; McLaren 1998; Red Bull 2010–12) . Prior to his F1 success, Newey had already collected the biggest trophies in the Indycar category too.
To translate that to footballing terms, imagine a manager that has won a total of eight EPL titles with three different clubs, after already winning a pair of championships in another country. That’s a run of enviable success in anyone’s language.
But Newey’s career has also had some incredibly deep lows; the death of Ayrton Senna in the FW16 being the obvious example here.
Racecar Engineering has compiled a snapshot of Newey’s achievements, good and bad, and it’s very much worth reading. Here’s a snippet we liked:
Our story of Adrian Newey’s career does not start with a hiring but instead a request for his immediate departure. As a teenager Newey attended the historic Repton public school (at the same time as Jeremy Clarkson) but was asked to leave after he high-jacked a school concert soundcheck and blew out a stained glass window.
[Source: Racecar Engineering | Pic: Getty Images | Thanks to Micky for the tip]
Here’s our last F1 in pictures gallery for the year. It captures Jenson Button’s victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix and also Red Bull celebrating Sebastian Vettel’s third world championship.
It may be the last time we’ll see the likes of Kamui Kobayashi. Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna in an F1 car for the forseeable future. Of course, we already know it is the last time we’ll see Michael Schumacher at the wheel of an F1 car. And there’s HRT’s uncertain future to ponder as well.
It’s been a great season and we trust you’ve enjoyed us bringing you these galleries throughout the year.
Here’s the full transcript from the post-race press conference held at the Brazilian Grand Prix. It’s a shame world champion Sebastian Vettel wasn’t on the podium so we could hear from him. However, Fernando Alonso was there and as you can imagine the bulk of the questions were fired in his direction.
[Pic: Ferrari]