Mclaren release 2005 car

Let's hope it doesn't blow up every race like last year

I have to admit though, McLaren has made me get my hopes up that there will be some serious competition with that Italian team....

i hope their car does well, as much as i love ferrari, not having worthy opponents saps the fun out being a spectator

Ferrari > *

i like it how the cars are starting to look a bit more like they did in the early nineties. a bit more simple and shorter.

anyway. i think mclaren will have got their act together this year but i have really lost all faith in f1 to see an exciting season. it will be dull all the way. no crashes, no overtaking, no nothing other than a procession from start to finish. any guess who will be at the front?

yup thats right. Mr Shoemaker himself

(yes i do know i have spelt it wrong)

he is sooooo boring

Lord Blackadder said:

Let's hope it doesn't blow up every race like last year

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Considering that there has not been much on track passing over the past few years, this was starting to be the best part of the races.

Well if McLaren want to do well Kimi better shape up!

Say want you want about Schuey, but there is no denying he is a consummate professional.

There's a high-res image of the car here.

Pretty, if you discount that insane "scaffold" of a rear wing.

MOFS said:

Simple looking cars? Now? Have you seen the sculpture on the side of the Mclaren or the Sauber? Michelangelo couldn't have done that...

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all i was meaning is that they are beooming a bit more like the 90's. a bit shorter a bit dumpier, i tjust think thy look a bit better!

Anyone know if the 20 is a twin keel car like the 19 or did they return to a single keel? I heard tell that Williams was abandoning the twin design but I haven't heard about McLaren and with their dark livery it is hard to tell.

I'll only have a problem with the new McLaren if Kimi actually wins (or gets on the podium). That would mean we'd have to listen to Kimi in the post-race interview, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone!

wymer100 said:

we'd have to listen to Kimi in the post-race interview, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone!

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you have to give him a little credit as his verbal skills have improved a lot since his first F1 interview but anyway, you're right, he's interested in driving the car, not talking about it.

JFreak said:

he's interested in driving the car, not talking about it.

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Each rookie says the same, I do hope he will improve his skills at the interviews, I remember Montoya saying "You know, you know" every sentence, , it was the year when he made 7 poles, 2002, I think.

anonymous161 said:

Anyone know if the 20 is a twin keel car like the 19 or did they return to a single keel? I heard tell that Williams was abandoning the twin design but I haven't heard about McLaren and with their dark livery it is hard to tell.

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Not sure, it's very hard to tell isn't because it's so dark under the nose, this is an evolution of the 19B so maybe they've stuck with the twin keel layout?Williams haven't fully abandoned twin keels just yet, Sam Michael was very evasive when asked about that.

As for the new MP4-20, not a bad looking piece of kit is it... but then so were the MP4-18 and MP4-19

A couple of things really stand out for me, interestingly they've abandoned the 'anteater' nose from the 18/19, going a with a Ferrari aping fat nose, but also towards the end of the nose section (cockpit end) the bodywork turns very flat, and squared off, which is very similar to the design Ferrari ran at the Monza tests in September last year, there's obviously something in that shape that I'm expecting we'll see on the new Ferrari when it's launched next month.

Also the asymmetric chimneys on the sidepods are an interesting feature, I assume they're asymmetric because of the differing cooling requirements needed for specific circuits, much like how the F2003-GA's 'Shark Gills' changed from race to race.

I'm wondering if they're not already experiencing cooling problems though, on some pictures I've seen, paint can be seen bubbling around the exhaust outlets, and the bodywork looks to be discoloured from heat, wasn't heat an issue on both the 18 and 19?? Either way it's disturbing considering it's been cold enough to snow at the Barcelona circuit this week.

Lastly, that rear end is really tightly packaged, with what looks like a ton of panel lines, they almost give it an F14 look about it, looks very complicated, but visually stunning.

So yeah, thumbs up from me, not as cool looking as the MP4-18, but that means nothing... it needs to do the business this season especially with 2 drivers of the calibre of Kimi and Montoya.

russed said:

he is sooooo boring

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Ask yourself... is it really Schumacher that makes it boring? or is it the failure of every other team and driver to assemble credible opposition?

This is after all the same guy who saved '94, '95, '96, '97, '98 and '99 from being utterly banal. it's not his fault others can't do the same in '01, '02 and '04... nope the others need ridiculous rule changes to do that ('03).



And as for Kimi

JFreak said:

you have to give him a little credit as his verbal skills have improved a lot since his first F1 interview

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I give him a lot of credit for trying and improving, but I still think Steven Hawkins has more inflection in his "voice."

iGAV said:

Lastly, that rear end is really tightly packaged, with what looks like a ton of panel lines, they almost give it an F14 look about it, looks very complicated, but visually stunning.

<snip>

Ask yourself... is it really Schumacher that makes it boring? or is it the failure of every other team and driver to assemble credible opposition?

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I'm wondering if the large number of panels is due to the heat issues. They may have put heat resistant panels over "hotspots" with regular old carbon fiber over the rest.

You definitely can't blame Schuey, but I can and will blame the other teams for not stepping up. Schuey is a competitor, it is not in his (or any driver's) nature try to do anything less than win. And if nobody else can beat him, he'll just keep winning, and more power to him. Yes, it does make F1 less exciting than it could be from a competitive standpoint. But like I said, It aint Ferrari/Schuey's fault.

That new model may be just the New Year gift for David Letterman and his Bobby Rayhall team. It may be the key to winning the Indianapolis 500 a second year in a row.

wdlove said:

That new model may be just the New Year gift for David Letterman and his Bobby Rayhall team. It may be the key to winning the Indianapolis 500 a second year in a row.

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When did we start talking about the Indi 500?

edesignuk said:

When did we start talking about the Indi 500?

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It's in reference to the Rayhall team using the new Mclaren 2005 model. See no reason why they couldn't use it at the 500.

iGAV said:

This is after all the same guy who saved '94, '95, '96, '97, '98 and '99 from being utterly banal.

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Damn straight! Well, except '99, that was Eddie


ed: *Indy

wdlove said:

It's in reference to the Rayhall team using the new Mclaren 2005 model. See no reason why they couldn't use it at the 500.

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Other than tires, engine, aerodynamics, weight...


That and it would kick everyone else's ass (if the engine lasted more than 5 laps )

Counterfit said:

Damn straight! Well, except '99, that was Eddie

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I didn't say he was always in the fight for the title

But think pre Silverstone '99

Then think Schumachers comeback

Without Schumacher pre Silverstone and Post Malaysia the season would've been a piece of p*ss for Mika with that McLaren.

Irvine was gifted Hock and Malaysia... he didn't take it down to the wire.