Breaking news
Formula 1 Bahrain March testing
McLaren "surprised" F1 rivals didn't adopt diffuser trick
McLaren is surprised no other Formula 1 team adopted its clever diffuser design, but doesn’t think it will take long for rivals to copy it.
Jonathan Noble
Edited: Mar 15, 2021, 8:49 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
As revealed by Motorsport.com last weekend, the Woking-based team emerged in pre-season testing in Bahrain with a unique diffuser solution that tries to claw back some of the losses triggered by new aero rules.
For while the height of diffuser strakes has been trimmed by 50mm this year, McLaren has cleverly extended the floor transition in a central area not limited by this restriction to allow it to run deeper fins.
McLaren technical director James Key has insisted the design is not trying to exploit a loophole in the rules, and instead says his team has implemented what he thinks is a ‘straightforward’ concept.
“It is a normal design idea, and actually I think we are a bit surprised that maybe we're the only team with that,” explained Key.
“It's just one feature of many in an area which changed for this year. You've got a certain regulation of a continuous surface in that area within the Y250 position, either side of the centreline of the car. Those little vortex generators down there which you see as well on pretty much every car now, these little aluminium or carbon parts are actually governed by de facto the same rule. So it's fairly straightforward.
“You need the CAD screen to see it, because you're taking cross sections of a 3D surface, so it's fair to question I suppose when it's difficult to tell without that CAD data to prove it's within the boxes it should be in and to prove it's a continuous surface. But that's really all it is.”
Diffuser regulations for 2020 vs 2021
Read Also:
- Revealed: McLaren’s clever trick to get around diffuser limits
- Verstappen quickest as Bahrain F1 test ends
McLaren’s rivals will almost certainly be evaluating how much benefit there is to being able to run the two longer diffuser strakes in that region, with Key suspecting others could follow suit in the early stages of the season.
“I think the first port of call with any idea you see out there is CFD, so I think you can jump on an idea that you spot on another team within a week easily nowadays,” he explained. “I guess if there's still interest after a week, whether it's our diffuser or Mercedes' edge of floor detail or whatever it is, I think you can get a feel for things quite quick.
“Then it's really understanding how it works with your car. That's the key to this. You can then end up with a unique geometry of your own because you might understand the principle, but then you have to adapt it accordingly that it works with your car. The diffuser situation for example is also very stable in that environment as well.
“So you'd probably therefore wind tunnel test it, which might be a week or two down the line, and then you've got to manufacture it. These particular steps are pretty straightforward. So you could say between three and five weeks between taking the picture and putting it on the car if you really wanted to push this through.”
Key was full of praise for McLaren’s aero department though, in having first spotted the way the design could be incorporated for 2021.
“I think it's always nice for a team to come up with an idea which is unique and the credit fully goes to our aero department and the guys in the rear aero group for realising that there was an opportunity there to use the new regulations in such a way,” he said.
“I suppose it's one of the visible things which gets talked about a lot, but ultimately it's just a bit of a much wider picture of a complex part of the back of the car. I'm sure it'll be forgotten by the time we get back here in a couple of weeks' time.”
McLaren MCL35M diffuser detail
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Straightline speed no longer a "disadvantage" for Ferrari
Next article The DRS trick behind Tsunoda’s standout Bahrain laptimes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
McLaren
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Why McLaren cannot fix its F1 car handling until 2027
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Latest news
Into the unknown: What to expect from WEC's Barcelona debut
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
1 h
Into the unknown: What to expect from WEC's Barcelona debut
Josh Pierson earns IndyCar license approval following IMS road course evaluation test
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 1 h
Josh Pierson earns IndyCar license approval following IMS road course evaluation test
Christian Horner opens up on Red Bull F1 exit: “Perhaps it was perceived I had too much influence over the team”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 1 h
Christian Horner opens up on Red Bull F1 exit: “Perhaps it was perceived I had too much influence over the team”
Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
2 h
Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe