McLaren MP4-24
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | McLaren | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Pat Fry (Chief Engineer) | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Chassis | McLaren moulded carbon fibre/aluminium honeycomb composite incorporating front and side impact structures which contains integral safety fuel cell | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Inboard torsion bar/damper system operated by pushrod and bell crank with a double wishbone arrangement | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | As Front | ||||||||
| Engine | Mercedes-Benz FO 108W 2.4 Litres V8 Naturally-aspirated, 18,000 RPM Limited with KERS mid-mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | McLaren, 7 forward speeds + 1 reverse Semi-automatic | ||||||||
| Fuel | Mobil High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel) | ||||||||
| Tyres | Bridgestone Enkei | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 1.  Lewis Hamilton2.  Heikki Kovalainen | ||||||||
| Debut | 2009 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
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The McLaren MP4-24 is McLaren-Mercedes' Formula One car for the 2009 Formula One season. It was revealed at McLaren's headquarters in Woking, United Kingdom on January 16 2009.[2]
The following day, team test driver Pedro de la Rosa gave the MP4-24 its first test run at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.[3]
In testing, the MP4-24 has proved slower than its rivals due to aerodynamic problems, with Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen repeatedly at the bottom of the timesheets. The car came under much scrutiny from team members and other critics alike. Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal, said the team "had not done a good enough job". He also went on to say "We have an underdeveloped car, we do not have sufficient aerodynamic downforce and we would like to focus on rectifying that as quickly as we can."[4]
The car was originally designed with a conventional diffuser. McLaren was among the teams that challenged the legality of the double-decker rear diffusers used by the Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams teams. The MP4-24 was fitted with a modified diffuser based on similar principles to the double-decker cars at the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix after the FIA confirmed that such components were legal.
After the 2009 British Grand Prix, the mid point of the 2009 season, McLaren had scored just 13 Constructor's World Championship points with Hamilton scoring 9 and Kovalainen 4. By the same point in 2008 they had scored 72 points and Hamilton was jointly leading the Driver's World Championship with Felipe Massa on 48 points. Hamilton has made public calls to scrap the car and and former team owner turned commentator Eddie Jordan has proclaimed it as "possibly the worst car McLaren have ever designed". [5]
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | Mercedes FO108W V8 | B | AUS | MAL‡ | CHN | BHR | ESP | MON | TUR | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | BRA | ABU | 14* | 6th* | |
| Hamilton | DSQ | 7 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| Kovalainen | Ret | Ret | 5 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | 8 |
* Season in progress.
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance completed.
References
- ^ "Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 Press Pack". McLaren Marketing Ltd. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ "McLaren launch 2009 challenger". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "De la Rosa gives new McLaren first run". autosport.com. 17-01-2009. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "McLaren will struggle - Hamilton". BBC Sport. 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
- ^ "Lewis: We should have scrapped that car". PlanetF1.com. 06-06-2009.
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External links
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