“As you can see, this is a beautiful car.” exclaimed Jenson Button. “We have a good-looking car” remarked Lewis Hamilton. “Cars really do look beautiful if they win races,” Team Principle Martin Whitmarsh told a crowded press room…
This is all great and personally, I am a big fan of a good looking Formula 1 car. But the question remains; do “beautiful” cars have the ability to win races? This was the question everyone in the press room had on the tip of their tongues. Before anybody had the chance to ask it though, Whitmarsh explained to us - “beauty is more than skin deep and there’s some beautiful engineering under the skin.”
Now that’s what we all wanted to hear! Let’s start with the beginning of the day though.
Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes launched their 2012 challenger, the MP4-27, this morning from the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking at 11:00 GMT today. This time, pieces of the car were not flying around from every corner of Berlin to be assembled in a spectacular PR stunt as was the launch in 2011. Instead, the car lay under an ironed sheet waiting to be unveiled by 2012 team drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
The “launch” itself took a mere matter of minutes. No more than 14 minutes passed between the stage lighting up, the drivers being introduced, the sheet coming off the car, and a small coffee break. There were no flashing lights, no over the top pyro’s and no members of the public piecing the car together like a jig-saw. It was a brief, to the point affair which focused on one thing and one thing only – revealing a car which McLaren hope, and believe, will propel Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton back to the forefront of the Formula 1 grid in 2012, and more importantly, a car which will beat Red Bull in 2012.
Looking at the car, it looks much the same as it did last year, and to the untrained eye, some would easily be forgiven for mistaking this year’s MP4-27 with 2011’s challenger, the aptly named MP4-26 (!). On the outside, the car is still chrome, and it still carries many of the sponsors tags it carried last year – though enthusiasts and McLaren fans around the world have been quick to notice the missing “aigo 愛国者”.
However, there are a few key standout points on the new MP4-27 which cannot go unnoticed. The entire chassis has been completely revised according to McLaren in order to suit the ‘under the bonnet’ changes that come with system updates, changes in technology and the new regulations. The result is a smoother, rounded chassis, with a backend that has been modified to suit the new exhaust system, thanks to the FIA throwing the book at rear blown diffusers..! One can now spot a hole on each side of the back end chassis, which is where the exhaust now exits the car.
The result of the new exhaust system means, in comparison to 2011, the cars on the grid in 2012 will have less down force and less grip. However, this only spurred on the McLaren designers to try and find that grip elsewhere for 2012.
Another noticeable change to the MP4-27 is the ‘U-shaped’ side pods of 2011 have now been replaced by sharper, rectangular pods which should allow thorough airflow around the newly designed exhaust system and revised cooling system which in turn re-directs the gearbox oil-cooler. The rear of the car is certainly “snug” as described by Hamilton. This will help the aerodynamics and stability of the car now that the rear blown diffuser is not allowed.
Some minor changes include the mirrors on the car, which Lewis Hamilton quipped to the crowded room of TV presenters and journalists “Felipe will be happy with that”. A few minor detailing changes to the front and rear wings of the MP4-27 round off the visible differences between last year’s car and this one.
So, is the car a thing of ‘beauty’? Well, it would be hard to argue against this – it most certainly is, and the chrome finish will, as always, means it stands out a little more than the other cars on the grid – especially in the sun! The rounded features of the chassis design, along with the absence of a “diving board” or “platypus” style nose as sported already by the Caterham CT-01, mean it certainly IS a beautiful car, and if Ferrari are saying their car is “ugly” already, then McLaren could be in the running for the most beautiful car of 2012 prize.
Is the car beautiful on the inside? Well we can’t really answer that, because I haven’t seen how things are laid out under that beautiful chassis of theirs..! But if the outside design is anything to go by, we’ll put our trust in the engineers of the MP4-27 and assume that things sit pretty well beneath the shiny exterior.
But right now, it’s time to stop talking, and start proving. The MP4-27 will have a one-day private shakedown over the coming days, and then team will then depart for Spain, where Jenson Button will have the opportunity to put the car through its paces first in Jerez when winter testing commences on Tuesday, February 7th 2012.
McLaren had a rough winter test last year, and will be looking to avoid this again this year. In his closing statements, Martin Whitmarsh told the Formula 1 world that he is “pleased and confident that we’ve left no stone unturned in our quest for performance.” This statement can only be backed up after McLaren rivals Ferrari and Red Bull have launched their cars, and everyone takes to the proving grounds of Spain over three different winter test scenarios. Lewis Hamilton stated "we’ve been competing at the front all those years. We’ve strength in depth, a great foundation from which we work. This is a team that never gives up."
I finish by reverting back to Martin Whitmarsh’s comments on the MP4-27; “Cars really do look beautiful if they win races”.
We now hope that, for McLaren’s sake, this is a car that WILL win races in 2012…! Then we will see that true inner beauty that is the Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27.
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