McLaren’s rear suspension interests its rivals
The McLaren team has opted for an unprecedented rear suspension this year, and it caught the attention of its rivals during the first tests that took place in Jerez this week. The system could be quickly copied if it proves to provide a real gain at the level of the rear diffuser.
The McLaren team has opted for a very original rear suspension design this year, a butterfly shape, which could provide an advantage at low speeds and in slow corners by bringing more air to the rear diffuser and therefore more downforce.
This solution will, in any case, be closely scrutinized by the rivals of the Woking team, starting with Ferrari, as explained by its technical director James Allison in Jerez: « I haven’t seen it in detail, but I would like to see a little more because it seems interesting. But I’ve only seen blurry images on websites for now. »
Same interest from Red Bull Racing and Adrian Newey, who appears more perplexed about the legality of the system: “I haven’t seen any pictures, but as it’s described, there seem to be eight suspension elements, where only six are allowed. Additionally, there are clear rules on the length of the suspensions.”
However, according to Autosport, the system was supposedly approved by the FIA, information corroborated by Auto Motor und Sport, which claims that the McLaren team got the green light for this design as early as the summer of 2013.
Some teams might, however, be tempted to ask the FIA for clarification on the legality of this system in order to also embark on this path.
At first glance, changing the design of the rear suspension wouldn’t be too problematic according to Williams’ chief test engineer, Rod Nelson: « I think it will be quite straightforward [to copy this system]. What would be more problematic would be something like a new nose and a new wing because that requires going through the crash tests again. »
Nelson believes that the design of the rear suspension of the MP4-29 has an aerodynamic purpose: « I imagine that it makes the diffuser work better. One of the problems we have this year is the lower rear wing, which is clearly illegal in the way we used it last year, the fact is with this lower rear wing, it does not generate as much downforce but it helps to be more aggressive with the diffuser. This prevents the diffuser from being ineffective with low ride height. I imagine that’s what the suspension arms of the McLaren are for. »
