Is desastor bound for spa?

[PG_Gabriel]

Ok so i was thinking about the McLarens mp24 and how the rear is so incredibly unstable, then i thought about spa and Eau Rouge were the car is almost lifting off of the ground already... iam worrying that when you combine that corner and that car at 180 mph that the car would easily lose control with one little mistake and hit the barrier at 180 mph... possible with that kind of impact survivor injury or death! tell me what you think because i cant stand thinking its gonna happen

[Andy B]

I would expect the Macca to be in a far more stable condition by Germany let alone Spa!!
A disaster? No I dont think so.

[cosworth151]

I'm not sure that Lewis and Kovi will be able to take Eau Rouge flat, but I'm sure they can adjust to the situation.

Welcome to GP Wizard, PG. Good to have you here.

[Willy]

There are 3 races before Spa and McLaren will have the rear end worked out by then.

[Jericoke]

There are 3 races before Spa and McLaren will have the rear end worked out by then.

There is no mechanism for working it out though, is there?  They can design and windtunnel as much as they want, but it's not the same as a driver in the car turning a few hot laps.<br><br>The testing ban may have saved some $$$, but it's not making a better season.

[mrkjf]

Ok so i was thinking about the McLarens mp24 and how the rear is so incredibly unstable, then i thought about spa and Eau Rouge were the car is almost lifting off of the ground already... iam worrying that when you combine that corner and that car at 180 mph that the car would easily lose control with one little mistake and hit the barrier at 180 mph... possible with that kind of impact survivor injury or death! tell me what you think because i cant stand thinking its gonna happen

Safetly First, but that is what F1 is all about ,excitment danger, thats what the drivers want,us fans probably want more but at the end of the day we dont want a radio controlled car.

[Ian]

Nor do we want a driver laying there on life support, you can have exciting races without drivers getting killed.

[lkjohnson1950]

I think Jeri is right. We keep expecting McLaren to get it right, and the car actually seems to be getting worse. Without more testing than you can do at the races, they cannot develop the car as quickly. I also still have doubts about Hammy and Kovi as test drivers. I bet a few days at Silverstone with de la Rosa would be far more help.

Lonny

[cosworth151]

A few seasons ago, Honda blamed its poor performance on a software glitch with their wind tunnel data. More real world testing would have pointed this out. I wonder if McLaren might be in a similar situation with the Computational Fluid Dynamics software on their super computer.

I agree, Lonny, Macca could use a good test driver. Lewis and Kovi are good race drivers, but I don't think they give their boffins the kind of feedback they need to improve the car.

[Monty]

I agree with Jeri.
From my minor racing experience the car looks too stiff. It actually lifts a wheel in every tight corner. If the tyres are not firmly planted on the track there will be limited mechanical grip and no amount of wind tunnel testing will fix this! However, with the engineers they have at their disposal it may be possible for them to significantly improve the car (unless the problem is due to the chassis not the suspension).

[cosworth151]

It actually lifts a wheel in every tight corner.

That's part of the whole budget cap / road car tie-in thing. They've borrowed the suspension design from an MG TC Midget.

[lkjohnson1950]

de Matta says a Toyota engineer once told him mechanical grip wasn't important, the only thing that mattered was the Aero. Might explain why they were so awful at Monaco.

Lonny

[Alianora La Canta]

I think McLaren may need a B-spec car at this rate - but it's left it rather late to develop one.

The only positive thing is that Spa isn't as windswept as Silverstone, so it's unlikely that the McLaren will leave the ground (unless it is in the relatively time-honoured method of vaulting off another car).

[johnbull]

I think McLaren may need a B-spec car at this rate - but it's left it rather late to develop one.

They just don't seem to be making any headway with this car, unfortunately.

[Steven Roy]

I don't think McLaren have the slightest idea what the problem is.  It seems like the rear end just loses downforce and steps out completely unpredictably.y  Earlier in the season the Ferrari was doing the same thing but it seems to be a bit better now.