2008 McLaren MP4-23

VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES MP4-23 UNVEILED AT STUTTGART

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes today presented the MP4-23, the team's 2008 Formula 1 car, at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Daimler Board, and Ron Dennis, Chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group, welcomed all the guests to the official presentation, with Lewis Hamilton, who celebrates his 23rd birthday today, and Heikki Kovalainen joined on stage by Pedro de la Rosa and fellow test driver Gary Paffett to unveil the MP4-23. The car was completed yesterday and left the McLaren Technology Centre in the ÚK at around 18:00 GMT on Sunday and was driven in a Mercedes-Benz Actros to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart-Úntertürkheim, having covered approximately 1000kms, arriving around 10:00 this morning.

Úpon arrival in Stuttgart, the car was transported to the 53,000 sqm Mercedes-Benz Museum, one of the world's largest and most renowned car museums. About 700 Mercedes-Benz employees from the nearby manufacturing plant Stuttgart-Úntertürkheim had the opportunity to attend today's event at the end of their early shift alongside the more than 400 media and other guests. The Mercedes-Benz employees had the opportunity to enter a draw of which the lucky winners were able to meet and spend some time with Lewis and Heikki.

Following today's event the car will be transported to the Circuito de Jerez in Southern Spain, where on Wednesday 9thJanuary Heikki and Pedro will start the test programme with two MP4-23 chassis at a private test. The team will remain at the circuit for five track days, excluding the weekend. Lewis will drive the 2008 car for the first time on Thursday 10th January alongside Heikki.

LEWIS HAMILTON
'The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 is the coolest birthday present you can get, well it is for me anyway! To see the car for the first time at such a great place as the Mercedes-Benz museum makes it an even more memorable day. I have had the past three weeks off and spent the time training and relaxing with family and friends. I know how much work has been going on in Woking, Brixworth and here in Stuttgart and it is a great looking car. My engineer has told me that approximately 14,000 manufacturing man hours have been involved to produce the car in time for today. I will be testing it for the first time on Thursday. It is going to be a busy time but myself, Heikki, who I welcome as my new teammate, and everyone within the team is looking forward to it as we push forward together.'

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
'Today is my first official event as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver and it hasn't come soon enough. After joining the team on the 14th December, I have already spent some time at the McLaren Technology Centre getting to know everybody and working with my engineers. It is also great to be here at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart today to meet the Mercedes-Benz employees, media and VIP guests for the first time as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver. I was able to learn a lot last year, and hope to take that knowledge into the 2008 season. I am looking forward to contributing to the development of the car during the six main tests in the build-up to Melbourne. It is a really exciting time for me to be joining Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.'

Dr DIETER ZETSCHE, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT OF DAIMLER AG AND HEAD OF MERCEDES-BENZ CARS
'I am confident that, with Heikki and Lewis, we'll have a very strong driver team on the track. All of us at Daimler are extremely proud of the tremendous track record of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. They prove once again: You can't be with Daimler or Mercedes-Benz without wanting to belong to the best – that's in the DNA of our company in a way. And that applies also for the motorsport.'

RON DENNIS, CHAIRMAN & CEO, McLAREN GROÚP
'The ultimate goal of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team is to fight for both the Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships. We are looking forward to another competitive season as we look to build on the momentum of last year. Every single member of the team has worked extremely hard since the end of the 2007 season to get the MP4-23 on track as soon as possible, to ensure we have the maximum amount of testing time available before the cars leave for Australia. We are all extremely pleased to have the opportunity to launch our new car at the Mercedes-Benz museum in Stuttgart underlining the strength of our partnership.'

MARTIN WHITMARSH, CEO FORMÚLA 1, VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES
'Development of the MP4-23 began in earnest 10 months ago and everyone in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart have worked very hard during the last few weeks, and particularly over the Christmas period, to make today's presentation here in Stuttgart happen. In addition we have continued to benefit from tremendous support from all of our Technology Partners. We are confident, based upon the simulation and analysis which has been an integral part of the development process, that the MP4-23 represents a step forward. Of course we will continue to develop the car from now until the first race in Australia and see whether we have done enough to be at the level where we want to compete this coming season. From today we have 68 working days until the Australian Grand Prix, and everybody within the team is highly motivated to travel to Melbourne with the most competitive package possible.'

NORBERT HAÚG, VICE PRESIDENT, MERCEDES-BENZ MOTORSPORT
'Our Museum is a unique place for this event. More than 160 Mercedes-Benz cars, amongst them 30 historic racing cars representing more than 100 years of Mercedes-Benz motor sport heritage create a most remarkable environment for the presentation of the new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23. I am really pleased that we are able to present with this car launch many of our colleagues from the nearby Úntertürkheim manufacturing plant a New Years surprise today. The media presence at our compact presentation today was massive, which is an additional motivation for everybody in the team to start the 2008 season with the target to finish one point ahead instead of one point behind the opposition.'

DAVID WHELDON, GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF CÚSTOMER AND BRAND EXPERIENCE, VODAFONE
'Vodafone is delighted to be entering this second season as Title Sponsor and Official Mobile Partner of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. Formula 1 is all about 'Making the most of Now' and similarly, we want all our customers to get the most out of their time. We look forward to building on our successful partnership and wish the team all the best for the 2008 season.'

MP4-23 FACTFILE
• The first design meeting for the MP4-23 took place back in November 2006 with early layout work starting in March 2007.

• Wind tunnel work commenced in late May 2007.

• Since then the MP4-23 has spent over 3000 hours being developed in the wind tunnel.

• The first MP4-23 chassis was ready for bonding in mid November 2007.

• Lewis Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett had their provisional seat fittings for the MP4-23 back in September 2007. Heikki Kovalainen was fitted for his seat shortly after being announced as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver.

• The car build process for chassis 1 began in early December 2007 and was finished in early January 2008.

• Throughout the development process 150 different engineers have been involved in the whole project in all disciplines.

• 14000 engineering man hours have so far been put into the MP4-23 development project.

• A similar number applies to the manufacturing man hours involved to produce the MP4-23 in time for its track debut on the 9th January 2008.

• The MP4-23 is an evolution of the MP4-22 and as such there is no significant visual difference currently, however between now and the first race in Australia there are planned upgrades on most of the aerodynamic surfaces, wings, bodywork, bargeboards and additional bodywork components.

• Alongside the development of the 2008 challenger, concept work has been started for the 2009 car since November 2007, with the KERS project (energy storage) beginning a year ago.

MP4-23 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

ENGINE

• Capacity: 2.4 litre

• No. of cylinders: 8

• Max. rpm: 19,000 (FIA regulatory limit since 2007)

• Bank angle: 90O

• Piston bore maximum: 98 mm (FIA regulation)

• Bore spacing: 106.5 mm

• Number of valves: 32

• Fuel: Mobil 1 Únleaded (5.75% bio fuel)

• Lubricants: Mobil 1, newly developed 2008 formula for lower friction and better wear resistance

• Engine: 95kg (minimum FIA regulation weight)

TRANSMISSION

• Gearbox Speeds: Seven forward and one reverse

• Semi-auto: Yes

• Driveshafts: McLaren

• Clutch: Hand-operated

• Chassis: McLaren moulded carbon fibre/aluminium honeycomb composite incorporating front and side impact structures. Contains integral safety fuel cell

• Front Suspension: Inboard torsion bar/damper system operated by pushrod and bell crank with a double wishbone arrangement

• Rear Suspension: Inboard torsion bar/damper system operated by pushrod and bell crank with a double wishbone arrangement

• Suspension Dampers: Koni

• Electronics: McLaren Electronic Systems control units incorporating electronics for chassis, engine and data acquisition. McLaren Electronic Systems also supplies the electronic dash board, alternator voltage control, sensors, data analysis and telemetry systems

• Bodywork Construction: One-piece engine cover; separate sidepod covers; separate floor section, structural nose with integral front wing.

• Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza

• Radios: Kenwood

• Race Wheels: Enkei

• Batteries: GS Yuasa Corporation

• Steering: McLaren power-assisted

• Instruments: McLaren Electronic Systems

Source - Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes MP4-23

After everything, they should have painted it red and adorned it with a horse rearing up into the air. Then it would have been seen whether people had a sense of humor.
Last year was filled with controversy, a level greater than that of the era when Prost and Senna were teammates if that were possible. Things looked very promising and very quickly began to unravel into utter turmoil. After a winless 2006 season for McLaren (which was the first time in over a decade that happened), things were looking brighter. Gone were both Raikkonen and Montoya who just could not unify the team and make the car better. McLaren was able to secure Fernando Alonso, the two-time and reigning world champion. And oh yeah…there was this other driver named Lewis Hamilton. Yes, this Lewis guy may be an unknown, but the team still had Alonso. And yet, things changed...fast.
Initially it all looked good. Despite the dominant win by Raikkonen in Melbourne, Alonso was able to come home second with Hamilton amazingly following in short order. Hamilton kept pace with Alonso, in fact outpaced Fernando many times. But this competitiveness should have been a warning sign to the team. Soon frustrations toward the new hotshot began to well up within the reigning world champion. Alonso began to feel slighted by the team. It seemed the number one was being treated the same as number one hundred and one. And then there was 'spygate'. Those technical Ferrari team files found on a McLaren-Mercedes team computer signaled McLaren's end in the fight for the Constructors championship, but not the Drivers'. Despite all these distractions, McLaren-Mercedes reemerged from the grave.
The MP4-22 appeared bullet-proof and very competitive. Each driver only suffered one DNF apiece and those were the result of driver error and not a mechanical problem with the car. The team would also go on to grab eight poles out of the possible seventeen races. But after the many disagreements between Alonso and Ron Dennis, the pure frustration within the team, and then finally the disqualification of the team from the Constructors title chase, it seemed as though the wheels were coming off of the proverbial wagon. But the really interesting thing about all of this is that all of these struggles really had nothing to do with the car; nothing at all.
The MP4-22 of a year ago was probably the most radical of any car on the grid. The McLaren chassis was adorned with more sculpted curves, winglets and turning vanes than most experimental aircraft. Truly, only the aerodynamicist could have looked at and loved the MP4-22. And yet, it captured the eye. But of course, more importantly, it worked. The car was quick, stable and reliable. There then was at least a good foundation in which to build upon for 2008. However, that foundation has been rocked again, but by the new FIA regulations (see Ferrari F2008 article).
These changes have literally altered the approach every team has had to take in the design of their car. And while many of these new rule changes have impacted what's found under the skin of these Formula One cars, the McLaren-Mercedes design team went to work redesigning the outside of the car in an attempt to counter the effect of the loss of many of the electronic aids that helped make last year's MP4-22 such a great car.
The lawsuit and the subsequent disqualification from the Constructors championship race must have hurt McLaren-Mercedes financially as this year's launch was much more low-key than the kingly ordination that occurred last year in the streets of Valencia, Spain. Of course, gone from the team is the king of Spain—Fernando Alonso.
For the first time, since the partnership between McLaren and Mercedes, the MP4-23 was unveiled to the world at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart. With people lining the railings of the multi-level museum and flanked on both sides by special quests and the press, the car rolled down the Mercedes museum's specially built runway, but this curvaceous beauty is no frail model. A barrage of flashes lit the room as the car rested quietly, flanked by its two race drivers and two test-drivers.
The first casual observations reveal only a few changes from last year's design. But upon a closer examination, the MP4-23 has many design changes. The front wing on the MP4-22 went through many refinements over last season. It started out with a very smooth sculpted leading edge with a rather deep scoop under the nose. By the end of the season, the leading edge of the front wind remain sculpted but with much more abrupt changes. Instead of a gentle arching scoop it became more u-shaped or box-like. This design has remained but with some refinements, and will continue to be refined before the first race in Australia. The MP4-23 was void of the upper wing profile that spanned over the nose, endplate-to endplate, but it will probably re-emerge. The 2008 car also offers a higher nose than that of a year ago. The zero-keel design has remained and with the higher nose will allow greater airflow to the splitter under the driver's legs, which allows for better control of airflow to help the chassis remain more stable as this airflow is less disturbed.
Traveling back from the nose, there are many new updates in design. The bargeboards and turning vanes have been highly refined and appear to be a maze of wings and airflow control devices seemingly capable of controlling and directing every single air molecule. The 'ears', near the cockpit are gone and the sidepod shields are much more incorporated into the radiator and sidepod design. The radiators remain bulb shaped and tightly contoured toward the cockpit. The sidepod shields have been redesigned in such a way as to help control airflow around the sidepods and to the back of the car. This is done by not merely attaching the shields to the sidepod, but actually making the shields part of the sidepod's design. As with last year, the shield is incorporated into the chimney. This helps to provide a continuous surface in which is useful to control airflow and to help keep the airflow relatively undisturbed as it passes around the car. As is required with every team, the side protectors that go around the driver's head have been raised. But the changes don't here.
The airbox above the driver's head has been redesigned to help prevent excess drag due to disturbed air that happens as the air flows over the driver's helmet. This turbulent air can build up and can disturb or hinder airflow. To counter this, the airbox has been moved back a little and has small splitters incorporated to help keep the air moving backward and not disturbing the overall flow of air. Small turning vanes have been added to keep the air tight to the engine cowling, thus directing the airflow as it heads back toward the rear of the car and so it can merge with other airflow, again, relatively undisturbed.
The engine cowling, this year, is tighter giving it a greater dorsal fin look to; again, help stabilize the car at the rear. The general contour of the car at the rear is much tighter and lower, helping with airflow exiting the car and striking the rear wing. The rear-wheel flip-ups have a much more extended leading edge than on the MP4-22 of a year ago. This too helps with airflow over the rear tires and to the rear wing. The shrouds on the inside of the rear tires have been redesigned. They have been altered to help direct the air away from the rear wheel, which helps prevent drag due to the turbulence the spinning wheels create. The lower and tighter rear bodywork, in conjunction with these shrouds, has created a deep channel in which to direct the air toward the rear of the car and over the lower wing element before exiting the car. McLaren have retained the mid-span wing that attaches to the tip of the engine cowling. This helps to separate the air and minimize turbulence as the air approaches the rear wing or is passing under the wing and out the back of the car.
As for the rear wing, there were a number of changes that occurred last season that have been retained in the MP4-23's design. The MP4-22's rear wing mounting pylons were angled back toward the rear of the car. In an effort to try and counter anything that might disrupt smooth airflow, the McLaren designers moved the angle of the pylons forward, toward the engine cowling. By pulling the pylons closer to the car's engine cowling it helped to reduce disruptions to the airflow as it flowed out of the rear of the car. This kept the airflow disturbances to a minimum, and therefore, helped the stability of the car at the rear.
The leading edge contour of the rear wing also changed throughout last season. The final evolution of the rear wing design for the MP4-22, and what has remained for this year's car, is a design where the vertical depth of the rear wing was significantly less where the wing attached to the endplates. In Formula One everything gets tweaked. And it was found that there was a tremendous amount of turbulence where the endplates met the rear wing. To overcome that, shark-fin style grooves were cut in the endplates to provide a means of escape for the air that built up in that area. It was also realized that having a rather straight leading edge caused that build up of turbulence to affect the smooth airflow trying to exit the car underneath the wing. So to counter causing further drag to airflow out the back of the car, and also, to help overcome the turbulence and drag that built up where the endplates met the rear wing the vertical depth of the wing portion near the endplate was reduced. Given the benefits such a design offers it is little wonder this concept has at least remained in some form on McLaren's newest challenger.
Despite the loss of traction control, the MP4-23 will still have, at the driver's beckon-call, one of F1's best engines. Last year proved the Mercedes 2.4 liter V8 has the power to propel its drivers to the front and keep them there, as it also proved to be bullet-proof over race distances. The biggest issue this year will be for the driver to keep their own foot under control.
Team Principal Ron Dennis said this was a year for 'Looking forward', not for dwelling on the past. And last year was a past the team would rather forget, although the numbers 22 and 23 on the nose of the cars will not help. McLaren has never been far from controversy, as is the case with most of the top teams. Each team seeks that edge, whether that edge is found with an unbelievable driver lineup or with technical information perhaps 'borrowed' from another team. But last year proved that McLaren-Mercedes is back from its embarrassing no win season of 2006. And if the team can come together, and the politics on and off the track can disappear, then it will be Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes laughing…all the way to the title.

Source - Jeremy McMullen