McLaren

That’s not right in my opinion. If Oscar was way behind Lando in points I could see them asking that of him, but Oscar is in quite a battle himself for a very important position in the rankings. Lando should work on his starts and race craft, rather than handicap his teammate.

 

So from:

1) Free to race

to

2) Papaya Rules

to

3) Be a "Bottas rear gunner" and back up Norris.

Make up your mind.....

Piastri won't be happy about this.

 

You are correct.
Mathematically speaking, Piastri has still a chance to overtake Leclerc and catch up Norris !!
Beating Max would be a big ask, though ...
So why should he give up and play second fiddle ?

 

Piastri will be a Barrichello from now on. "Let Michael pass for points"

 

Unless he becomes another Vettel and ignores team orders.

His agent, Mark Webber, can explain him how to do it ...

 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/piastri-mclaren-team-orders-but-says-hes-still-free-to-race-norris/10653479/

Piastri insists rules have not been put in place at McLaren and he will still be free to fight for wins unless the situation calls for it.

"It still needs some more discussion, but I think the main point is it is not just me pulling over for Lando at every single race, that is how none of us – including Lando - want to go racing. Trying to go through all the scenarios is impossible and of course we don't want to discuss that publicly," he said.

"The main one is that if we feel that someone has done a much better job on a weekend, whichever way it is, we want that person to be rewarded and that is of course where it becomes a bit tricky still and we need to continue discussing that.

"But it is not simply a blanket 'I'm going to be behind Lando in every single race' and every decision that is taken here on out because I still have things that I want to achieve in the championship and try to boost my standing in the championship."

Piastri, however, did admit his move into turn four at Monza would have fallen foul of the new agreement that is now in place.

He squeezed past Norris, leaving his team-mate open to also fall behind Leclerc in the process in an overtake which may now contravene McLaren's 'Papaya Rules' moving forward.

 

If Lando doesn't win the championship, it will be a giant flop for him. Having the best car, and for the better part a dominant car since Miami and only 2 wins. Come on.

 

Ha, the luxury of having two #1s capable to win in the same team !!!

It won't happend at Williams, RB, Sauber, Alpine, etc ...

 

A rather nice endorsement !


Verstappen on McLaren's orders: 'Piastri not the type to be a number two'

 

This is sounding like a clarification on the pass in Monza and nothing more and not an enforceable directive yet:

One sentence from Lando Norris summed up the situation well: "It's more that we've just told you (the media and the fans) what you want to hear finally than anything else." The Briton uttered the sentence amid the barrage of questions as if it didn't matter, but in reality it turns out to be the sentence closest to the truth.

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/300517/mclaren-team-orders-create-ambiguity-are-they-there-or-not.html

 

Lec is going to do it. He's got his head right.

 

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

If Max doesnt go to AM, Oscar will after being humiliated in public by his asinine, bozo brain management. This is a matter that is discussed privately, what fools

 

It’s time for a MS type driver at Ferrari. Oscar fits the model very nicely. Webber is already scanning possibilities given that McLaren are looking a bit less than coherent on this issue currently.

 

From what I’ve seen of Piastri - and, admittedly, it is a view from a distance - I don’t think he’ll be bothered by this. He knows how good he is, he sees that he’s grown into Lando’s equal (or better), and he knows this will earn him goodwill in the team. I’d wager that Piastri knows he’s the future at McLaren, and he’s comfortable in small sacrifices now as he looks toward 2025 when the roles will likely be reversed.

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/F1Technical/comments/1fhcozt/mclarens_rear_wing_upper_element_flexes_on/

McLaren's rear wing was seen flexing in the corners on their upper element at Baku. This could be currently legal if it has passed all the flex tests by the FIA, and one has to expect this is the case. However there is a rule that says the slot gap must remain a certain size. For sure this is the case with DRS open, but there may be a minimum measurement with DRS closed too. There is a possibility this flexes outside the rules at high speed.

Remember 2021 when the FIA forced Red Bull to change their flexy rear wing within a few weeks, even though it passed the FIA's flex tests. McLaren was already given a pass this season over their ultra flexy front wing, will the FIA show bias once again?

 

OMG, there are so many videos on Mclarens rear wing. That flexion(by far the most flex under load than any other rear wing) and "mini drs" under load(at high speeds) is an aero genius masterpiece. Surprised no one else thought of this. No wonder this MCL38 is fast even while not using DRS as proven by the Piastri-Leclerc battle at Baku.

 

Lot of technical peoples are thinking this device is purely illegal.
I really hope FIA will clarify everything sooner than later.

 

+1 Agree this needs to be addressed without delay.

 

Something to digest on this: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/did-mclarens-mini-drs-rear-wing-trick-help-piastri-keep-leclerc-at-bay-in-baku/10654905/

Did McLaren's 'mini-DRS' rear wing trick help Piastri keep Leclerc at bay in Baku?
Some intriguing behaviour of the McLaren rear wing in Baku points to a unique way the team may be boosting its straightline speed

Matt Somerfield Sep 16, 2024, 2:48 PM


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A new technical intrigue has arisen in the aftermath of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with McLaren's rear wing under the spotlight.

Footage from the rear-facing onboard camera on Oscar Piastri's MCL38 showed the upper flap distorting under load, with the most visible aspect of this being the outer leading edge of the upper flap which tilts upwards as speed builds.

This could potentially give rise to a further reduction in drag and boost its straightline speed and will once again bring the topic of flexi-wings to the fore.

So far the questions that have been raised this season have been in regard to the legality of some of the front-wing solutions on display. However, there's clearly going to be a renewed interest in rear-wing deflection and flexible elements for the rest of this season.

The intrigue about the McLaren rear wing design comes after a race where Piastri was able to hold off Leclerc despite his rival having the DRS open advantage.


Flexi-wings have long been a source of irritation in Formula 1. After all, the teams are constantly seeking means to exploit aeroelasticity to improve the performance of their machines, whilst staying within the bounds of the static tests that the FIA employ to reduce their impact.

Of course, these components will always deform differently once load is applied on track, as it exceeds the values of the tests, which are more about establishing a baseline to prevent designs that could be considered unsafe.

However, this has led to the use of other tactics to help police matters, with the monitoring of onboard camera footage providing a means to establish how the deformation of components is occurring, which can, in turn, be used to alter the regulations and prevent matters further spiralling out of control.

This method was introduced in 2021, with the governing body requesting that all teams install 12 target dots in specific locations on the mainplane and upper flap.

This was in order that the dots could be used as a reference when the footage from the rear-facing camera is reviewed. These dots can be seen in the main image, six black dots on the upper flap and six white dots on the mainplane.

It's understood that this had largely acted as a means to self-police the over-rotation of the rear wing assemblies and in the wake of accusations regarding flexible front wings this season a similar tactic has been employed during Friday's practice sessions since the Belgian Grand Prix.

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McLaren MCL38 rear wing detail

Photo by: Uncredited

Given that the FIA will have seen the upper flap's leading edge rotating rearwards from the onboard footage (red arrow, inset), as it has been doing so for a number of races already this season, it would suggest the ruling body is happy that it's within the constraints currently posed by the regulations.

In terms of the net effect of this flexion, it's likely that the gap being between the upper flap and mainplane has a similar effect to DRS when it is deployed, albeit having nowhere near the same potency. But, given this occurs as load builds on the assembly it can be expected to offer a performance boost across the entirety of the lap.

For example, the flap flexion could also be witnessed in the middle sector in Azerbaijan, with the onboard footage showing the flap visibly lifting in the outer portion, as the upper flap pulled up clear of the tip section alongside, albeit not with the same force as it was on the main straight.

This 'mini-DRS', as it's being dubbed, is another example of the ingenuity shown by Formula 1's engineers, as they have found a way to interpret the regulations in a way that their rivals haven't and gained an edge over them as a consequence.

The more interesting battle is yet to come though, as the rest of the teams will now undoubtedly look at how they can incorporate a similar design methodology, albeit it's likely that McLaren has taken full advantage of it already this season, given we've already visited a large proportion of the hi-speed events on the calendar.

 

I love the ingenuity of the McLaren's flexy wings, but FIA have made some hard stances in the past when these ideas go outside the integrity of the rules or in some phrasing the FIA uses. As I mentioned, they immediately banned Red Bull's idea in 2021. The FIA choosing to not ban the wings, especially with silly excuses like McLaren doesn't have the budget or time, then all they are doing is continue to reinforce the narrative of extreme bias towards British teams/drivers or more specifically the popular drivers/teams. Plus it also supports the corrupt manipulation F1 and Media Liberty do to provide a more entertaining championship.

 

Could this also have allowed less wear on the rear tires of Piastri's car over the long stint on hards? Leclerc really fell off a cliff the last 10 laps or so even on newer tires.

 

Leclerc's tires fell off with like 3 laps to go after battling Piastri for like 20 or 30 laps. That's when Sainz came in after managing his tires and like that last 10 laps he really turned it up and mostly likely would have overtaken Leclerc. Piastri by the last 3 laps really pulled a gap to Leclerc.(2 last laps was under a VSC because of the Sainz-Perez incident)

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/1fiaiy1/formula_aerodynamics_on_instagram_an_illustration/

 

I think what is deviously clever is that McLaren figured out how to reverse the direction of the flexing.
The wing-tip is flexing UP under load.