McLaren MP4-31 launch

I wonder what these cars would look like at the rear without the full size floor, only running to the edge of their body. Quite odd, I'd imagine.
 
Looking at the comparison photos, the McLaren still seems to have the slimmest rear end, although the toro rosso isn't far off.
 
They got 119 laps in today, didn't they? That's pretty good going to build on the 84 Button did on Monday. I genuinely think there is around a second, maybe a second and a half, to unlock in that car at least. Meaning they should be fighting it out to be the best of the rest behind Ferrari and Mercedes, and be on a competing level at the odd race here and there too.
 
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I wonder if Mclaren considered this (rather common) shooting angle when designing their 'livery'. Because I'm afraid what you've got there Mclaren is a solid black car.
 




For those who loved the sound of this car last year, its back :D
 
Don't know why people tend to get so fussy about the off throttle "gurgle" - or whatever you might call it. The Honda is still the best sounding car on throttle.

Speaking of the off-throttle gurgle. Does anyone have a sound theory of what it might be? I know Brundle kept banging on about it being a misfire, but I don't buy that for a second. The only theory I've stumbled across that makes halfway sense is that it might be a cylinder cut-out system - although I doubt that's within the regulations - so back to square one.
 
[Nor]MclarenF1
Don't know why people tend to get so fussy about the off throttle "gurgle" - or whatever you might call it. The Honda is still the best sounding car on throttle.

Speaking of the off-throttle gurgle. Does anyone have a sound theory of what it might be? I know Brundle kept banging on about it being a misfire, but I don't buy that for a second. The only theory I've stumbled across that makes halfway sense is that it might be a cylinder cut-out system - although I doubt that's within the regulations - so back to square one.
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At first, I also thought it might have been cylinder deactivation as well but then I remembered something: McLaren and Ferrari ran something called an S Duct and remembering how the Exhaust Blown Diffuser works, I'm wondering if those systems might be giving off a similar sound effect as the Ferrari sorta has its own sputtering gurgle as well. )though its more refined in comparison to the rawness of the McLaren).
 
[Nor]MclarenF1
Looks like the first gremlin has been lured out. Button stranded at the end of the pit lane.

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Well it took two days before an issue occurred so that's pretty huge progress made considering most of a session couldn't be completed without a big boom last year.
 
Make no mistake, Im in no way disappointed with the cars reliability. So far it looks to be one of the most reliable cars there.

I'm hoping they'll let Alonso push the car tomorrow.
 
They only had a hydraulics leak today. That's nothing too serious. Far from the power anemia the car was suffering last year.
 
Pezzarinho17
Here we go... :(
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It's a minor hiccup. Considering how many laps they've ran, compared to last year, and to only encounter a hydraulic leak and a coolant leak.. they're lightyears ahead of where they were, even just at the end of the season.
 
GTPorsche
It's a minor hiccup. Considering how many laps they've ran, compared to last year, and to only encounter a hydraulic leak and a coolant leak.. they're lightyears ahead of where they were, even just at the end of the season.
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Let's hope so... a cynic might say that as soon as they turned the engine up it started disliking fluids.
 
I'm not expecting them to be back winning races in 2016, but I hope to see them consistently fighting for points. To do that, they can't just be better than they were a year ago. The first 2 days were promising given the number of laps covered, however today has been a right off really. Perhaps the leaks have just been in the wrong places and aren't that much to worry about, but all throughout last year there was CONSTANT water / hydraulic / oil / electrical leaks that were "nothing to be worried about".

Maybe I'm just protecting myself from getting hopes up only to see them struggle yet again, but right now I can't help but think McLaren will be racing the Manor and the Haas this year to be the best placed team to score a point when the top and midfield teams have a high number of retirements...
 
TenEightyOne
Let's hope so... a cynic might say that as soon as they turned the engine up it started disliking fluids.
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From the sounds of things, it was a small leak tucked away in a tight corner of the engine bay, so finding it was difficult enough to begin with, and fixing it meant taking most of the car apart.
 
motorsport.com is reporting that McLaren are using the final build of the engine that they intend to run in Melbourne for the second Barcelona test.

 
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