Proudly displaying the number one status, this will be the car that world champion Jenson Button will be defending his drivers’ title. The radically looking MP4-25 features a high shark-fin engine cover that seems to be part of the rear wing.
The silver/chrome livery remains on the McLaren despite rival Mercedes’ ‘Silver Arrows’ treatment, which was unveiled earlier this week.
Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button represent the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team this season, with the latter joining the squad from Brawn GP. It will be fascinating to see how these two British world champions will get on as team-mates and on track.
Hopefully the MP4-25 will provide confidence to the drivers as last season’s car was quite a challenge to drive.
It will be interesting how McLaren will fare against its German rival using the same engine. In addition, the rivalry between Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn will be intriguing for the current world champion who is now representing the British-based team.
News articles on the new McLaren MP4-25. See links for details:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81116
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8487108.stm
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/1/10376.html
Jenson Button says it is time to forget about his 2009 title success and focus on what he can achieve with McLaren in 2010.
The reigning world champion unveiled McLaren’s new MP4-25 with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in an event at sponsor Vodafone’s headquarters this morning, and said he was now looking to the future rather than resting on last season’s glory.
“After last year you think about what you have achieved and it goes through your mind – the road to becoming world champion,” said Button, “but after that you soon start forgetting because you are concentrating on 2010 and the new challenge.
“I’ve been to a few events and award ceremonies and they bring back memories. To see number one on the car here is special, but we need to forget about last year. It will always be in the back of my mind, but we need to start focusing on the future and this is the future.”
He admitted he was highly impressed with McLaren’s latest design.
“It looks pretty amazing, stood here looking at it,” said Button. “I cannot wait to take a step back and have a better look. I always thought Vodafone McLaren Mercedes put a car together properly and meticulously. For me it looks great.”
Button said he already felt at home in the team, having left the title-winning Brawn team to join McLaren in a shock move shortly after the end of his triumphant 2009 season.
“It has been a very busy January and a very good January, you never know what to expect going into a new team,” he said. “You have your opinion from the outside but you never know what the atmosphere is inside the team.
“I am pleasantly surprised, I feel I have become part of this team in this short period. It’s been a good few days spent at the factory.
“The good thing is the start of 2009 was a difficult period for them, and it gives them hunger to have a good 2010 – you can see that in everyone at the factory. People say it has been the busiest winter ever but they don’t care.
“It is all going along very smoothly and January is great, but I cannot wait for February to start as we get to drive this car.”
Hamilton added that he was delighted to be working with Button at McLaren this year.
“His career has been fantastic, I’ve known him and his dad for quite some time,” said Hamilton. “I won my first ever British [karting] championship on John’s engines years ago and I wanted to follow in Jenson’s first steps – so to be in same team as him, and both having won a championship, is great.
“I look forward to working with JB, and hopefully we can push the team onwards to both championships this year.”
Source: Autosport.com
Lewis Hamilton says he is certain that this year’s McLaren-Mercedes MP4-25 will be ‘completely different’ to last season’s difficult car.
McLaren began 2009 near the back of the pack, before a massive development programme saw the team winning again by the summer, and eventually recovering to third in the Constructors’ Championship.
At the unveiling of the MP4-25 today, Hamilton said an incredible effort had gone into ensuring there was no repeat of last year’s problems.
“The car looks so much different, completely different, and I feel so proud as I have had some input into it,” he said. “I am sure it will handle completely differently to last year’s car.
“We have been working on this car for quite some time now. The guys are working flat out trying to build components, develop and improve the downforce and aero efficiency.”
His new team-mate Jenson Button agreed that the indications were good for McLaren, although he added that its competitiveness would not be apparent until testing resumes next week.
“We’ve seen the numbers and everything is very positive, and driven the simulator, but the real work starts in a few days in Valencia,” said Button.
Hamilton emphasised that the limited testing mileage available in February would be more vital than ever, with several key rule changes coming in for 2010 and McLaren determined not to start the year behind its rivals again.
“We don’t have a lot of testing compared to normal, now we only have seven days each,” said Hamilton. “We have a big heavy fuel tank, narrow tyres – hopefully we can maximise each of those days to get as much running as possible and get to the first race in a great position.”
Source: Autosport.com
F1 Fanatic has provided some good comparison photos of last year’s McLaren with the new 2010 car.
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/01/29/compare-the-new-mclaren-mp4-25-with-last-years-car-pictures/
In addition, how does the McLaren compare to the Ferrari. See the link:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/01/29/mclaren-and-ferraris-2010-cars-side-by-side-pictures/
Technical insight with McLaren’s Tim Goss & Paddy Lowe on the MP4-25. Full article taken from Formula1.com.
With regulation changes for this season far less extensive than those for 2009, you’d be forgiven for thinking McLaren’s 2010 car would bear more than a passing resemblance to it’s predecessor. The MP4-25, however, is a very different beast, with its distinctive dorsal fin just one of a number of major design changes. The team’s director of engineering, Paddy Lowe, and the car’s chief engineer, Tim Goss, explain…
Q: The MP4-25 looks very different from last year’s car – what are the principal changes?
Tim Goss: Following last year’s clarification involving the interpretation of the underbody regulations, the 2010 car has been designed to take greater advantage of the aerodynamic benefits we can derive from the floor. That interpretation led us to change the layout of the rear of the car. The car is longer than last year’s car as a result of the additional fuel capacity and we’ve lowered the chassis and bodywork. Plus the removal of KERS has opened up opportunities on internal layout and weight distribution. It’s quite a different aerodynamic treatment to last year.
Q: The dorsal fin that attaches the top body to the rear wing is very striking – what does it do?
TG: The principal knock-on effect of the larger fuel tank was the repositioning of some of the car’s internals. One of the outcomes of that was a decision to move some of the car’s cooling to sit centrally at the rear of the car. The dorsal fin is partly to accommodate the additional cooling duct and partly a logical development of the high-downforce wing we ran last year at races like Monaco, which feeds air more efficiently to the rear wing upper element. They’re both quite simple solutions, but they’re actually very neat.
Q: On a human level, what has the organisation learnt about itself over the past 12 months?
Paddy Lowe: I think we’ve learnt that as a team we can operate effectively and we pull together both in success and in adversity. I think one of the greatest things about last year was the fact that on no single occasion throughout the whole team, whether that’s from shareholders, sponsors, team principal, management through to the night shifters, did I come across any individual blaming another That was a very encouraging situation, and spoke volumes about the degree of team spirit that exists here.
Q: Looking at the 2010 regulations, the biggest news is the banning of in-race refueling – how has that affected the packaging of the new car?
TG: It has definitely been a big challenge fitting twice as much fuel into the car, because you don’t want to increase the chassis length by too much, and you also don’t want to compromise the aerodynamics by making the car too wide. You’ve got to fit radiators into the sidepods, so you’re limited as to how wide you can push the chassis.
Q: How did you tackle it?
TG: In the end, we elected not to compromise the aerodynamics of the car, and, through a rethink of the cooling system layout and electrical packaging, we managed to provide space for the additional fuel capacity while maintaining our aerodynamic philosophy for the bodywork.
Q: The drivers will be carrying twice as much fuel at the start of each Grand Prix as they were last year, how will that affect the car’s handling and balance characteristics?
PL: The biggest problem is just the sheer weight of the fuel – it obviously increases the stopping distance quite considerably. Running with high fuel puts demands on braking – and it means you have to design the brake discs and pads to overcome that. And with a narrower front tyre, you’ll lose grip, which will change the fundamental balance of the car. So we’ve looked at weight distribution, aero balance and mechanical balance in order to compensate for grip balance moving rearwards.
Q: Do you think the banning of refueling and its effect on the car’s tyres and balance will spice up racing in 2010?
TG: could make the show significantly better, yes. Previously, you knew when everyone was going to stop and refuel, so each team based their strategy decisions on overtaking cars during the pitstops. What’s changed for this year is that we won’t know when people are going to stop. The only thing affecting drivers’ mandatory stops now is that they have to run both the Option and Prime tyre, so the strategy choices will be less predictable and will become a little more complicated. Races could be one or two stints with both early and late stops for tyres.And it will definitely make the racing more challenging and interesting – and, hopefully, it will promote more on-track overtaking and less overtaking during the pitstops.
Q: Finally, what’s on your job list going into the four crucial pre-season tests?
PL: Initially, the most important thing is proving that the car is robust. Just about everything has changed on the car, there’s very little that hasn’t changed, so we want to make sure we’re fully reliable for the first race. At the start of 2009, there were teams who were more competitive than us, but we were still able to pick up a good number of points because we were more reliable. These tests will be about establishing the durability of the car and giving ourselves enough time to fix any issues we encounter. In addition, we also want to get a very thorough understanding the new tyre, its degradation and durability, and how to get the best out of it. Beyond that, it’ll be about performance development.
World champion Jenson Button says he has never been so excited ahead of the start of a Formula 1 season as he is now he has joined McLaren.
The Briton took the title with he Brawn GP team last year but decided to move to McLaren to start a new challenge alongside Lewis Hamilton.
“It’s been a very busy January to make sure that I really feel a part of this team,” Button told reporters during the launch of the new McLaren.
“Moving to a new team is always difficult and it’s a big change and we struggle with change a little bit. But they really have welcomed me and it’s been a really good atmosphere. It’s nice to finally see the car as one whole piece.
“I’m looking forward to the season. We don’t want to get too carried away yet. We have a lot of testing in front of us, a lot of hard work before we get to the first race.
“I’m excited, the most excited I’ve every been coming into a season. It’s a massive challenge for me and one I’m really looking forward to.”
The world champion admits his move to McLaren has been a big push for his motivation, and says he is working flat out to make sure he’s fully adapted to the team for the first race.
“When you win the championship you have achieved your dream and your initial goal, and after that I was thinking where do I go from here? The decision was to move to McLaren, and take up this new challenge,” he added.
“It has really spurred me on, I go into this season so much more excited than any other season I’ve been in Formula 1.
“I’ve become a much stronger person and stronger driver with what happened last year. I’m working with the team already. There are some areas that I’ve never really worked on before.
“When we get to the first race I’m gonna make sure I’m 100 per cent ready. I don’t want any excuses. The first race in Bahrain is a race I’m looking to be competitive in.”
And Button insists it is very important that Hamilton and him work together for the team, despite the intense rivalry expected.
“For us, as I keep saying, it is so important for us to be working together as a team or you won’t get a British world champion at the end of the year. For us to work as a team is key working together and learning from each other. We have so much experience of working in F1, positives and negatives, we’ve both been in different situations.
“You see at the end of the year what happens, and who did a better job after those 19 races. There is no use thinking that far into the future, it will be a big mistake, you have to think of now and how we make this car as quick as we can.”
Source: Autosport.com
How will the Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton partnership work out this season? F1 Fanatic has provided an interesting article on the two British champions as McLaren’s 2010 drivers.
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/01/29/hamilton-and-button-off-to-a-smiling-start-but-the-test-is-yet-to-come/
After looking at it for a bit, it’s not a bad looking car. Different with THAT engine cover.
But looking at this and the Ferrari, I do see something that’s very strange. All the bloody aero tweaks, bits and pieces. I thought that all these bits were to be made less not more? Those front wings are ridiculous with all the bits stuffed on them.
But hell, this season is still going to rock!!
I think the pairing of the two world champions is going to be a great thing. I think they’ll be great teammates and get along fine. Yes of course things will get tense when they start to race each other, but while Mclaren is hugely linked to Lewis, Jenson is also a team player and will do all he can for them, unlike Alonso etc. He wants to do well to get out od the shadow of Lewis, and you cannot do that without the team behind you. Everyone and I mean everyone i that team will be totally psyched and up for getting back into F1 with mega results.
Good observation Nigel on the aero tweaks. I believe the stability in the regulations has made the designers to be more creative in gaining back lost downforce. The shark fin treatment seems to be the latest trend with BMW Sauber and McLaren adopting this approach. Yes, those little ‘flip ups’ on the front wing and endplate make the car less elegant but it’s there to clean up the air flow around the car. That way, it makes the car more aerodynamically efficient, but at the same time makes the following car behind difficult to overtake due to the ‘dirty’ air…
I’m not surprised that the Double Diffuser controversy will make another appearance this year. Read the Autosport link for details.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81128
But at least this part of the aero kit is banned from the 2011 Formula One season. See the link here:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81024
Anyway back to McLaren. I am looking forward to these two British drivers fighting out during qualifying and the race. It will be fascinating to see which driving style will suit the MP4-25 the most. Will be Jenson’s smooth approach on the steering, throttle and brakes? Or the more aggressive side to Hamilton, who prefers an ‘edgy’ car?
We will find out and more during the official Formula One testing in February before the first race of the season in Bahrain in March.