It remains to be seen if this set up works better than conventional undercut sidepods for creating rear downforce. This makes the duct that directs air from the inlet to the radiator much simpler. The radiators themselves have a stepped upper edge, the protruding section reaching up inside the higher “L” shape section of sidepod. Packaging radiators and ducting into this shape is far more complex than a simple inlet. McLaren have still managed to keep an undercut, but this is much smaller and lower, at about the same as the bottom of the raised nose. With the double diffuser banned, a larger proportion of rear downforce will have to come the from the rear wing.Īlso by creating this shape inlet it means McLaren cannot have the deep undercuts in the sidepods, which other teams use to direct the airflow around the sidepod and over the diffuser. While McLaren may have to have a slightly larger inlet to cope with the poorer airflow, the benefit is that the better airflow closer the centre of the car can now be directed at the beam wing. Its this messy airflow teams try to keep away from the car with the pod fins.
By placing them outboard the vertical inlet catches the turbulent airflow from the front wheel wakes. This allows the sidepods to cool efficiently and hence have smaller inlets for less drag. Typically teams place the inlet for the radiators as close inboard a possible, as this airflow is the cleanest and with the most energy. What the team have done is to shift the inlet for the radiators at the front of the sidepod as far outboard as possible, to allow a freer flow of air to the rear beam wing (the lower element between the tail lamp and the top rear wing). As with other design elements on the McLaren these are almost directly opposite to what the rest of the grid is doing. Termed “U” shaped by Technical Director Paddy Lowe, as the two “L” shaped individual inlets together form a “U”. With a lot of expectation around McLarens new car, the newly unveiled MP4-26 did indeed surprise with its sidepods. Airflow passes over the sidepod to the beam wing (yellow), while an undercut still directs flow the sidepod
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