McLaren-Honda technical director Tim Goss has said Formula One fans can expect ‘meaner’ looking cars in 2017.
New regulations for this year means the technical director’s at all the F1 teams are having a slightly less relaxing offseason.
No doubt extra time has gone into maximising the performance of new parts without sacrificing reliability but, while drivers and engineers will see and feel the changes first-hand, fans will have to settle for new look cars and hopefully more sound.
One of the biggest changes is an increase in tyre size as Goss explained: “The 2017 tyres are slightly larger in diameter, but, more significantly, they are wider. Imagine the old 2016 rear tyre now going on the front of the car, and a similar-sized increase on the rear tyre to accommodate,” he said.
In addition to the larger and wider tyres, Pirelli have said the degradation levels on the 2017 tyres are lower than the 2016 spec.
With wider tyres also comes wider aero pieces to accommodate such as longer noses and wider, lower wings.
“The track width has gone out by 100mm per side – so the cars are wider. And because of that increased width, the front wing has also grown wider. And it’s now swept back in plan-view.
“The rear wing is also wider and lower – which helps make the whole car look lower and wider. And there are some visual styling cues that have been introduced: the rear is swept back in side-view and the sidepod intakes are angled in plan-view. It’s definitely a ‘meaner’ look.
“There’s a detail in the rear-wing endplate regulations; they step in – and that curviness is another styling feature that adds to the general ‘aura’ around the new shape.”
Other subtle changes, include a raised rear diffuser, larger barge boards, and swept back intakes.
All these changes certainly equate to a ‘meaner-looking’ F1 car or at least a meaner McLaren MP4-32, whether other teams will use the new regulations to also create ‘meaner-looking’ cars is still uncertain at least until the first reveals in late-February.
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