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[Rad-oh-yeah?]

McLaren has overcome Renault packaging headaches



By: Jonathan Noble, Formula 1 Editor
2 hours ago


Technical director Tim Goss is confident McLaren has successfully overcome packaging headaches caused by Renault's engine architecture without having to compromise its 2018 Formula 1 chassis design.

After three years of disappointment with Honda, McLaren elected to end its deal with the Japanese manufacturer at the end of 2017 and sign a customer partnership with Renault for this year.

Although the move is set to deliver a much-needed power boost, Goss has revealed that the switch did require some major work at the back of the car due to way that Renault packages its turbo and energy recovery systems in a different way to Honda.

"The Renault architecture is very different," Goss told Motorsport.com. "You have two fundamental engine architectures out there.

"You have the Mercedes/Honda approach, and you have got the Ferrari/Renault approach. Essentially the difference comes down to where the turbocharger sits.

"The Mercedes/Honda approach is you have the compressor on the front of the engine, the turbine on the back of the engine and the MGU-H sat in the middle of the V.

"The Ferrari/Renault approach is that you have got the compressor sat at the back of the engine, the MGU-H behind it and the turbine behind that.

"They require a very different approach to your chassis and your gearbox, and now we have had recent experience of both we can see there are pros and cons of both.

"There are things I love about the Renault approach and there are things that frustrate me a little bit, but in the end we were fortunate that the decision to move from one engine to another was made just in time. It couldn't have been made any later."

Goss has explained that the differing requirements of the Renault packaging had an impact on several areas of the car - including the fuel tank, gearbox and rear suspension.

"We had to reconfigure the chassis, change the cooling system and reconfigure the gearbox to make it fit," he said.

"But we've managed that in time without any significant compromise to the chassis. It was quite a big change.

"The Renault engine will sit further forward in the chassis. With the Honda you had the air intake that had to come down into the front of the engine, and that volume came out of your fuel cell. So as a result, the chassis was longer.

"But then what you hadn't got was a turbocharger sat off the back of the engine, which then gets in the way of your inboard suspension.. So you ended up with a much easier task at the back of the engine.

"When you move to a Renault, suddenly the front of the engine becomes a lot simpler and as the result we win back a substantial amount of fuel volume.

"You can push the engine forwards and the aerodynamic blockage of the engine and exhaust is considerably better, because that has moved forwards behind the chassis.

"But then you have a turbocharger that is sat in the bell housing and, as a result, to accommodate that you have to redesign your rear suspension internals and lengthen the gearbox.

"But we've done a fantastic job. A really fantastic job. It was very, very intense. We had pretty much two weeks of very intense effort to get it sorted, but we knew pretty much what we needed to do."

Performance step

McLaren's chassis was regarded as one of the best in the field last year, although a lack of power made it difficult to judge exactly where it compared to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

But although the team is upbeat about carrying forward its promise in to 2018, Goss is well aware of the opportunities all teams will have to revamp their designs and make a big jump forward.

"Obviously you choose the architecture of the car at the beginning of the season, and there are some things that are built in that you cannot really change during the season," he said.

"So when you redesign the car, that is your opportunity to make those changes. I think people will, through looking around at other cars, be able to make those changes.

"You would expect there to be a step and, given the cars are relatively immature, you would expect it to be a bigger step than in previous seasons."

 

Ajd' sto se kaze iz tvojih usta u bozje usi...

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Ma od ove godine samo bolje! Ajmo Kivi, do pobede!

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

McLaren will stomach Renault failures for performance
Monday, 22 January 2018
By Chris Medland / Image by Sam Bloxham/LAT




McLaren is preparing itself to still have some reliability issues with the Renault power unit but is willing to accept them in return for performance.

After three years of struggle with Honda – as the Japanese manufacturer lacked both power and reliability for the majority of that time – McLaren will partner with Renault in 2018 and is targeting podiums this coming year. With Renault having suffered a number of reliability problems in 2017, notably toward the end of the season, McLaren executive director Zak Brown is unconcerned by those weaknesses because of the trade-off with performance that is being made.

"I think we've got lots of concerns going into every racing season, not just power unit," Brown (pictured with Renault F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul) told the Marshall Pruett podcast. "Ultimately we're very confident. They've got the power, they've demonstrated that they've got the power. They've had some reliability issues when they've turned the power on. You saw that in Mexico, someone said to me that they blew up four engines – yeah, but they did dominate the race.
 
"We want to get back to the front of the field. We know motor racing – performance can cause some reliability issues. We think they're on top of it, they think they're on top of it and they think they have identified what the issues were. I'm sure we'll have an engine issue at some point during this year, but that's racing. We just hope not to have too many and we hope we have them at the front of the field.

"That would be a big improvement. We've got to rebound now so we need to set expectations; we're not going to go back to challenge for the championship. And a Formula 1 team is more than just the power unit.

"So, no more concerns than I think anyone would have at any race course at the start of any season of any unknowns, but they know what they're doing. They've won six championships in the last 13 years, so they're very close."

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Norris already learning from Alonso at Rolex 24
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Chris Medland / Image by Mauger/LAT




Lando Norris admits he has been learning from Fernando Alonso's approach during the opening days of their time as teammates ahead of this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The McLaren F1 reserve driver is sharing a car with both the two-time Formula 1 world champion and Phil Hanson, driving an LMP2 Ligier for United Autosports. Alonso is using the 24-hour race as a learning experience for a future Le Mans attempt – potentially with Toyota this year – and Norris says there has been plenty he can pick up from the way his McLaren stablemate goes about his work.
 
"Fernando's been really open to helping Phil and me," Norris said. "I don't think he's too worried about whether we're particularly fast or slow. Obviously, he wants to be the fastest, but he knows it's a team game.

"I've definitely learned a lot from him – not really the driving side, but more about how he approaches the test, the laps he does, how he gives feedback to the engineers."

Norris expects United Autosports to look more competitive during this weekend's Rolex 24 than it did during the ROAR earlier this month, when the No.23 car only 12th fastest, as both he and the team gain more experience with the car.

"I haven't really done any long stints yet – that's the major challenge," he said. "In Formula 3, races were around 45 minutes, so it's a big step up to be doing a three-hour stint. In the night. We have tested in the darkness, so I've already had a taste of that. At first, you lose some of your braking markers, but you adjust. It's a pretty cool experience to drive at night.

"I think we struggled to find a set-up during the ROAR weekend. Hopefully, we'll go into the race weekend having made some progress in that area, so I think we'll look better than we did at the test."

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Kanda imamo dobrog omladinca u svojim redovima:
 

Alonso full of praise for ‘very impressive’ Norris
Monday, 29 January 2018
By Chris Medland / Image by Scott LePage/LAT




Fernando Alonso believes the "very impressive" performance from teammate Lando Norris will have surprised people at the Rolex 24.

Alongside Phil Hanson, Alonso and Norris made up the No.23 United Autosports entry at Daytona, which ultimately finished in 38th place after a spate of reliability issues during the 24 hours. However, Norris was one of the standout performers in the race, setting the team's fastest lap and rapidly closing in on the leaders during changeable conditions on Saturday night.

Asked for his thoughts on the two drivers he shared a car with, Alonso was effusive in his praise for the McLaren reserve driver.

"About my teammates, maybe it's not a surprise [to me], but for the people that don't know Lando, it will be a surprise for them," Alonso said. "The things he did were very impressive. The teamwork, the preparation, the focus.

"At night if you look, when we switched to wet tires for one stint, we were fifth, one minute behind the leader. Then we switched to slick tires again in damp conditions - all this with Lando driving - and we were 27 seconds behind the leaders.

"So even in wet conditions, his first time in a prototype, first time in Daytona, first time with Continental tires, he recovered 33 seconds in 20 laps or something like that. He is 18 years old, so that is quite impressive..."

And the two-time Formula 1 World Champion was similarly impressed with United Autosports during what was his first sports car race experience.

"It was amazing teamwork. First with United Autosports, the package maybe was not as competitive as some other packages out there but we were very fast in the race. We were probably easily on the podium, the other car was fighting for the podium and finished P4. That's amazing, what United Autosports can achieve as a team.

"We had too many issues in the race but the mechanics kept focused and they kept motivated all race long. That was a good example of teamwork and dedication."

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Brown: Alonso's WEC seat in 'McLaren's best interests'
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Chris Medland / Image by JEP/LAT




McLaren executive director Zak Brown believes Fernando Alonso's seat with Toyota in the World Endurance Championship is in his team's best interests.

Alonso will compete in the full 2018/19 'Super Season' for Toyota as part of his attempts to win Le Mans, with the Spaniard chasing the Triple Crown of victory in the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans and Indy 500.

With McLaren permitting Alonso to compete in four WEC rounds this year – he will miss the 6 Hours of Fuji due to a clash with the United States Grand Prix – the Spaniard will take part in 25 world championship races but Brown says the Toyota program will not detract Alonso from his Formula 1 duties with McLaren.
 
"It's no secret that Fernando has wanted to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours," Brown said. "And I think everybody within our organization appreciates that a motivated, hungry and happy world-class driver such as Fernando is a formidable asset for any team in F1.

"Last year, we came to the joint decision to go racing with Fernando at the Indy 500 rather than at the Monaco Grand Prix. But we've always said that we would consider each opportunity on a case-by-case basis, and we both know that, in 2018, our core priority is success in Formula 1.

"Like Fernando, at McLaren we're racers at heart, and our team is built on a brave heritage of competing and succeeding in different forms of the sport. Equally important is the confidence that nothing detracts from our number one goal of Formula 1. After proper evaluation, we are satisfied that this campaign does not do that, and that McLaren's best interests prevail."

Alonso will share the No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing car with Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima and will make his WEC debut at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on May 5, in the weekend between the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the Spanish Grand Prix.

The most grueling part of Alonso's schedule will see him driving in either F1 or the WEC on seven consecutive weekends, starting with him competing in the Monaco Grand Prix on May 27 before testing for Le Mans on June 3. The Canadian Grand Prix on June 10 is then followed by Le Mans on June 16-17 and a triple header of F1 races in France, Austria and Britain from June 24-July 8.

[4_Webber]

Zak Brown predicts 'solid season' for McLaren

 

Zak Brown insists formula one will remain Fernando Alonso's "number 1 priority" in 2018. That is despite the fact that it has been announced officially that the Spanish driver will contest not only Le Mans, but other WEC sports car races for Toyota this year.

But McLaren executive Brown told the Spanish sports daily AS that Alonso will not miss any grands prix. "His priority is formula one, so we are open to other racing activities provided that formula one, which is his number 1 priority, is not compromised in any way," he said.

Alonso missed Monaco for the Indy 500 last year, but the big difference in 2018 is that McLaren is now expecting to field a much more competitive Renault-powered car. "Everything is going really well with the design of the car," Brown revealed.

"We just passed the crash test and everything has gone according to plan. We are going to present the car on February 23 and be on track for the first time on February 26. All the simulations put us where we wanted to be last year. Sometimes the simulations don't work when you go to the track, but last year it worked more often than not so I think we're going to have a solid season," Brown added. (GMM)

[4_Webber]

Bulije kaze da je Renoov motor sekund brzi od Hondinog.. Verujes li ti u to Radoje?

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Pa pod nekim odredjenim rezimima rada sigurno, Hondu nisu smeli da odvrnu za kvalifikacije jer ne bi ni jedan krug izdrzala. U trci je razlika znacajno manja, pred kraj sezone su u trkackom setapu Honda i Reno bili skoro pa egal. Ono sto ocekujem od Renoa je pre svega pouzdanost i manjak drame, da se ne raspada. Uz mogucnost da konacno mozemo da koristimo kvalifikacione modove to znaci da cemo trke startovati sa mnogo boljih pozicija, a onda ni podijumi nisu daleko. Alonso je prosle sezone na par trka imao dobar tempo ali jebiga kad startujes kao zadnji i onda ti crkne motor 5 krugova pre kraja dzaba ti tempo. Sad sa Renoom bi to trebalo da dodje na mesto.

[4_Webber]

Secas li se Alonsovog zaostatka u Meksiku u kvalifikacijama, +0.192? Sekund u kvalifikacijama odnosu na Hondu bi nas skoro sigurno doveo do pol pozicije tamo. Previse dobro da ne smem ni da zamislim to

 

edit: i svakako ona suluda stednja goriva u toku trke vise ne bi trebalo da se desava

Edited by 4_Webber, 02 February 2018 - 19:55.

[4_Webber]

[djura.net]

Bulije kaze da je Renoov motor sekund brzi od Hondinog.. Verujes li ti u to Radoje?

bulije je klovn level arai.

nije me mrzelo da pronadjem sta je lupetao prosle godine u ovo vreme otprilike, tako da svaka njegova rec za mene nema ni malo smisla.

 

Boullier 'excited about what McLaren can achieve'

 

McLaren F1 racing director Eric Boullier says that the team's relationship with engine provider Honda has blossomed, and there's now a real sense of excitement at Woking that the squad is set to turn the corner in 2017.

 

“Within McLaren-Honda, there’s a tangible feeling of progress, of change," Boullier explained at the launch of the new MCL32 on Friday.

 

"This year’s rules reset is a valuable opportunity for us," he added. "It will allow us to make progress with what we feel is a well ordered and clearly defined chassis-engine package, and hopefully to narrow the delta between us and the front-running teams."

 

“There’s a feeling around the factory that we’re about to turn the corner. Our relationship with Honda has blossomed – there’s a real sense of comradeship to what we do now.

 

"I think we’re all very excited about what we can achieve together this year," he concluded.

 

 

[4_Webber]

Bulije uopste nije klovn. Seti se kako je doveo Lotus-Reno u red nakon one katastrofe 2009. Izjave, pa sta da radi na dan predstavljanja novog automobila koji nije ni video stazu, sta je trebalo da kaze, bicemo go k***c, Honda je sranje? U tom trenutku se to nije znalo. Meklaren u ovom trenutku nakon skartiranja Honde ima sve potrebne uslove za uspeh, pocevsi od budzeta, preko menadzmenta i inzenjerskog tima, pa do vozaca. Sacekaj bar Australiju pa ga proglasi klovnom ako tim i tada podbaci.

[djura.net]

Bulije uopste nije klovn. Seti se kako je doveo Lotus-Reno u red nakon one katastrofe 2009. Izjave, pa sta da radi na dan predstavljanja novog automobila koji nije ni video stazu, sta je trebalo da kaze, bicemo go k***c, Honda je sranje? U tom trenutku se to nije znalo. Meklaren u ovom trenutku nakon skartiranja Honde ima sve potrebne uslove za uspeh, pocevsi od budzeta, preko menadzmenta i inzenjerskog tima, pa do vozaca. Sacekaj bar Australiju pa ga proglasi klovnom ako tim i tada podbaci.

Nemam sta ja da cekam, moja rec nije ni za kog nista merodavna niti obavezujuca (a opet sam oprezniji u prognozama), makar kad je rec o mclarenu, ali bi bulije trebao da meri reci i pazi sta prica jer je njegova svaka rec obavezujuca, odnosno to bi trebala da bude. I svakako da bi prvo on trebao da saceka makar barselonu i testove (poucen prethodnim iskustvima) pre nego sto pocne da glumi araia.

Edited by djura.net, 05 February 2018 - 11:31.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Lando Norris says he is prepared to leave McLaren if the British team has no place for him within a year or so.

This year, McLaren will line up with an unchanged driver pairing of Fernando Alonso alongside Stoffel Vandoorne.

But youngster Norris, the new reigning F3 champion, steps up into the reserve role for 2018.

About his future, he said: "You could say it depends on what he (Alonso) does.

"So we'll have to wait to see what Fernando wants to do because I think they (McLaren) are also happy with Vandoorne," Norris, 18, is quoted by Marca sports newspaper.

The young Briton will combine his McLaren role with Formula 2 this year.

"I can develop a lot and definitely improve as a driver in 2018," Norris said.

"Obviously my goal is to be at McLaren but if I cannot get a place here, then I'll have to look for other opportunities.

"If they tell me there will be no place for three years then it's obvious that I'll have to go somewhere else, but if it's only a year, I think I'll continue with McLaren," he added.