McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 Makes Its Debut

Posted by www.eMercedesBenz.com on January 23, 2006 at 8:30 AM CST


McLaren Mercedes test driver Pedro de la Rosa was behind the wheel of  
wheel of the team's new MP4-21 today as it made it on-track debut in  
Barcelona, Spain.  Team driver Juan Pablo Montoya will take over  
testing duties tomorrow, Tuesday 24th, and Wednesday 25th, and soon  
to be world champion Kimi Raikkonen will make his debut runs on  
Thursday 26th and Friday 27th January.

Here's what Pedro had to say about the MP4-21's intial run: "I am  
really pleased to have been at the wheel of MP4-21 today.  The car  
feels good initially, but it is of course too early to really  
understand it's potential and we need to put a lot more laps on it.  
We have around 20 days of on track running before the cars leave for  
Bahrain on Friday 3rd March. As today is the initial shakedown, our  
focus will be to familiarise ourselves with the MP4-21 and the  
Mercedes-Benz FO 108S V8 engine, and to run the various systems  
checks that are required with a new car."

For more info on the McLaren Mercedes testing schedule as well as the  
new MP4-21, visit us at www.eMercedesBenz.com or check out the full  
press release below.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


F1: McLaren Mercedes MP4-21 conducts shakedown

Barcelona, Jan 23, 2006

Test driver, Pedro de la Rosa, was at the wheel of the MP4-21 as it  
left the garage for the first time at 09:15 local time to complete  
its installation lap. Juan Pablo Montoya will take over driving  
duties for tomorrow, Tuesday 24th, and Wednesday 25th, with Kimi  
Raikkonen having his debut runs on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th  
January. Pedro and fellow test driver Gary Paffett will test  
alongside the team's race drivers in an interim MP4-20, continuing  
the Michelin tyre development programme, until chassis two of the new  
car is scheduled to hit the test track in Valencia sometime during  
the week commencing 13th February.

"I am really pleased to have been at the wheel of MP4-21 today" said  
Pedro. "The car feels good initially, but it is of course too early  
to really understand it's potential and we need to put a lot more  
laps on it. We have around 20 days of on track running before the  
cars leave for Bahrain on Friday 3rd March. As today is the initial  
shakedown, our focus will be to familiarise ourselves with the MP4-21  
and the Mercedes-Benz FO 108S V8 engine, and to run the various  
systems checks that are required with a new car."

"Everyone at Team McLaren Mercedes is looking forward to the  
challenges ahead this season, and we took a major step in our  
preparations for 2006 today by starting to test the MP4-21 at  
Barcelona," commented Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, Team McLaren  
Mercedes. "The anticipation within the team as to how competitive the  
new car will be is great, particularly given the pace of our 2005  
racer and the level of work that has been put into the MP4-21  
project. However these are early days, we have a comprehensive  
programme to complete with the car over the next few weeks. This will  
mean hard and dedicated work from the whole team supported by our  
Technology Partners and Official Suppliers, including an aggressive  
schedule of upgrades to come on line before Bahrain."

The revised engine regulations for 2006, with the change from V10 to  
V8, has dominated the overall design process. Research into a  
direction for the MP4-21 began in August 2004, when Team McLaren  
Mercedes started to consider the new V8, 2.4 litre power plant, which  
as in 2005 has to last for two Grands Prix weekend. Designed and  
built from scratch, the Mercedes-Benz FO 108S V8, which ran for the  
first time at Silverstone on 13th September 2005 following its dyno  
debut on 15th June of the same year, also has to conform to the below  
restrictions:

-V-angle of the cylinders set a 90 degrees

-Use of a maximum of two inlet and exhaust valves each, previously  
restrictions have only covered the number of cylinders and a limit of  
five valves

-Minimum engine weight of 95 kilograms

-Maximum cylinder bore of 98 millimetres

-The position of the engine's centre of gravity

-Precisely defined alloys for the manufacturing of engine components


“The challenge with a brand new Formula One car is the same every  
year, but nevertheless there were even more intensive tasks to be  
dealt with this year than ever before," said Norbert Haug, Vice  
President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. "The regulations require new V8  
engines with a 2.4-litre capacity, and in addition to this the need  
to compensate for the restriction of the aerodynamics, this took a  
lot of time and effort. The power reduction by more than 150 bhp put  
additional strain on the aerodynamic concept. The aim was to further  
reduce drag and maintain or even increase downforce – which with the  
given limitations reminded the technicians that it is possible to  
achieve the impossible. As a result of this complex task it was  
important to invest sufficient time before the final definitions were  
made. We are very satisfied that the new MP4-21 has had a successful  
debut today. Its basic data promises that we have got a good basis.  
Our new engine covered about 6500 kilometres on track and more than  
double this amount on the dynos in Brixworth and Stuttgart. Now it is  
our task to prepare the new car for Bahrain in six more tests with  
more than 20 testing days when most of the time two MP4-21s will be  
run following Barcelona. The aim is to continue on last year’s level  
of performance.”
In October of 2004, the design team began its research into revised  
engine systems concepts, with the new regulations providing the  
opportunity to develop areas such as the cooling system, air and oil  
consumption and fuel supply.

"The development of the Mercedes-Benz V8 engine, and its ancillary  
areas, has seen McLaren Racing provide a strong supporting role to  
Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, further integrating the  
facilities in Woking, Brixworth and Stuttgart," added Martin Whitmarsh.

Aerodynamics also received early attention, with the development  
programme starting as the 2005 season was getting underway in April  
of that year and the aero specification set in late October / early  
November. A key area of focus was the opportunity to exploit the  
smaller power unit by repackaging the rear of the car. In addition,  
the regulation change that stipulates the forward deflectors ahead of  
the reference plane must be raised by 50mm proved to be significant  
to the aerodynamics of MP4-21 and required innovative solutions from  
the Team McLaren Mercedes design team.

April 2005 also saw initial transmission and drive train work begin  
and the following month, the first spec of MP4-21 was issued by the  
design team. By September, production had begun, with chassis  
manufacturing starting one month later.

Other key regulation changes include the increase in crash test loads  
to the rear structure by 50 per cent, leading to the development of  
complex composite structures to absorb the required energy. Late  
December saw the MP4-21 chassis complete its first FIA crash test.

On the sporting side, there is a new qualifying format and the return  
to tyre changes in pit stops. The latter has been a focus of the  
extensive winter testing schedule throughout December and January to  
date, with the team working alongside Michelin to develop the new  
compounds and constructions for 2006. By the end of the final test in  
December 2005, Team McLaren Mercedes had covered over 6,000kms with  
the Mercedes-Benz V8 engine.

"Visually MP4-21 will look very similar to MP4-20," said Jonathan  
Neale, Managing Director of McLaren Racing. "In addition to the  
tighter packaging to the rear of the car, people will notice  
differences to the nose area, which has been lowered, and the aero  
body work, such as the barge boards and deflectors. The reduction in  
required cooling for the V8 engine has allowed us to in turn reduce  
the size of air intakes, this includes apertures in the main chassis,  
which is beneficial to the overall aerodynamic package. There are a  
significant number of changes in the cars structure, geometry and  
aerodynamics as a consequence of 16 months of R&D innovation. At  
McLaren Racing, we have a strong team of 135 engineers, and all have  
made a vital contribution. Now the new car has been released, our  
primary short term focus will switch to durability testing, proving  
the software, the systems and the 11,500 car components, 90% of which  
have changed from MP4-20. In addition we have a series of engine and  
chassis performance packages to bring to the car for the initial  
races. There is a lot of work to be done."

For more Mercedes-Benz news and information, visit us at  
www.eMercedesBenz.com.