Formula 1 News

McLaren unveil the McLaren MP4-26 F1 single seater 

The McLaren Mercedes F1 team unveiled today in Berlin, Germany their 2011 F1 single seater, the McLaren Mercedes MP4-26.

Revealed at Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, the famous public space that sits on the fringe of the old Berlin Wall, the MP4-26 was built up by dozens of Vodafone competition-winners, fans and customers carrying components into the arena, where the new chassis was gradually pieced together in front of a huge crowd.

This culminated in our McLaren Mercedes drivers – 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton and 2009 world champion Jenson Button – assembling the very final pieces to reveal the completed racecar.

Looking radically different from last year’s race-winning chassis, the McLaren MP4-26 features a range of aerodynamic features designed to take advantage of new rules significantly limiting the amount of downforce that can be derived from the car’s underbody.

These most notably include distinctive U-shaped sidepods – to feed air more efficiently to the car’s rear-end – and a drag reduction system (active rear-wing), introduced for 2011 to increase the potential for overtaking

Beneath the skin, the car houses an all-new electric KERS (hybrid) system. McLaren Mercedes, along with its engine partners Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, became the first-ever Formula 1 team to win a grand prix using a hybrid device in 2009, and this new system is expected to further refine that race-winning package.

McLaren-Mercedes MP4-26 Technical Specifications:

• Chassis: McLaren moulded carbon fibre composite incorporating front and side impact structures.
• 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
• Electronics: McLaren Electronic Systems. Including chassis control, engine control, data acquisition, dashboard, alternator, sensors, data analysis and telemetry.
• Bodywork: Carbon-fibre composite. Separate engine cover, sidepods and floor. Structural nose with intergral front wing Driver-operated drag reduction system (active rear wing)
• Tyres: Pirelli P Zero
• Radio: Kenwood
• Race wheels: Enkei
• Brake calipers: Akebono
• Brake master cylinders: Akebono
• Batteries: GS Yuasa Corporation
• Steering: McLaren power-assisted
• Instruments: McLaren Electronic Systems
• Paint solutions: AkzoNobel Car Refinishes using Sikkens Products

Engine:

• Type: Mercedes-Benz FO 108Y
• Capacity: 2.4 litres
• Cylinders: 8
• Maximum rpm: 18,000
• Bank angle: 90°
• Piston bore maximum: 98mm
• Number of valves: 32
• Fuel: ExxonMobil High Performance Unleaded (5.75% bio fuel)
• Spark plugs: NGK racing spark plugs specially designed for Mercedes-Benz F1 engine
• Lubricants: Mobil 1 – combining greater performance, protection and cooling with increased economy and lower emissions
• Weight: 95kg (minimum FIA regulation weight)

KERS (Hybrid):

• Type: Mercedes-Benz
• e-Motor: Engine-mounted electrical motor/generator
• ESS: Integrated energy storage cells and power electronics
• Power: 60 kW

Transmission:

• Gearbox: McLaren-moulded carbonfibre composite. Integral rear impact structure
• Gears: Seven forward and one reverse
• Gear selection: McLaren seamless shift, hand-operated
• Clutch: Carbon/carbon, hand-operated
• Lubricants: Mobil

Images © McLaren Mercedes